


Riverdonna Valley

by Milk_Tea_Cheese



Series: The Sims 2 Stories [2]
Category: The Sims (Video Games)
Genre: Dhampirs, Magic, Multi, The Sims 2, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 36,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23522554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milk_Tea_Cheese/pseuds/Milk_Tea_Cheese
Summary: Everyone knew the stories of Pleasantview, Strangetown, and Veronaville.But what about the stories from halfway across SimNation in the idyllic Riverblossom Hills, the mystical Belladonna Cove, and the peaceful Desiderata Valley?
Relationships: Gvaudoin Tricou/Gavin Newson, Rick Contrary/Miranda Capp, Romeo Monty/Meadow Thayer, Samantha Cordial/Armand DeBateau, Sandra Roth/Jacob Martin
Series: The Sims 2 Stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714771
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Tea again!  
> No one ever writes for Riverblossom, Belladonna, or Desiderata, and none of the characters have tags! I wanted to try and change that.
> 
> This is a sequel of sorts for The Sitcom! I use sequel loosely because while it doesn't focus on the base game 'hoods, it does mention some events/characters from it.

_There once were two bright and quite studious witches who were the best of friends despite them walking two very different paths._  
  
_One of them studied the path of luminous Light, and the other studied the path of murky Dark. That didn't bother them at all, and they even taught both forms of magic to their students despite their young age. That is, until it all went wrong._  
  
_Something had changed in the Dark witch, and she couldn't figure out what until it was too late. It started with her and her friend. All they did now was argue, fight, and make up in a cycle.  
Then, the Dark witch stopped teaching her students the way of the Light, instead electing to teach them to shun and fear it. The Light witch was confused, until the Dark witch challenged her to a duel. It went on for days and days until it was clear that they were too evenly matched in their respective ways.  
  
It all came to a close when the Dark witch attempted to murder the Light witch, but failed. The Dark witch fled, and the Light witch stopped teaching the way of the Dark, telling her own students that it would consume them sooner or later. Despite this, she threw herself into trying to figure out what went wrong.  
  
That had been ten years ago. Ten years that conflict went on, and ten years many lives had been claimed due to that feud.   
  
Now, it's up to a new generation to try and help solve this conflict. But will they succeed, or will their lives be claimed like their predecessors? _


	2. Roth (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Say hello to Sandra Roth! She was mentioned in Sims 2: The Sitcom during the gala, and she's the first person we're starting with!

_208 Welsh Lane, Thursday, 3:00 P.M._  
  
Everyone around SimNation knew the story of how the teens of Pleasantview, Veronaville, and Strangetown came together to find Bella Goth and dismantle the Altos' mafia reign. Dina Caliente was still at large, however, and everyone was told to keep an eye out for her. This was still all over the news because it happened just a few days ago.  
  
Sandra Roth wanted an adventure like that too. You know, minus being kidnapped, infiltrating the mafia, and nearly dying in the process.  
She had met a few of the people involved in saving Bella at the gala a few weeks ago actually. Juliette, Hermia, and Miranda were their names, and Sandra couldn't really picture the prissy Juliette or silent Hermia being involved with that.  
Goes to show she couldn't judge a book by its cover, huh?  
Oh well, she'd get her chance to do something like that some other time. For now, she had to focus on the road ahead of her. She was picking up the love of her life, Jacob Martin, so they could head down to Belladonna Cove for the day. Jacob wanted to find some seashells for something he was doing, and she was happy to oblige. Their summer break ended next month, so they weren't too worried about what time they'd return either. Jacob had already told his dad where they'd be going, and he approved. As for Sandra, her parents didn't care much because they were too busy fighting.  
  
Jacob was walking up to the curb as Sandra pulled up and parked her motorbike. She gave her boyfriend a grin as she pulled off her red helmet and handed him his own, "Hey, Jake. Ready to go to the beach?"  
"Yeah. I see you managed to get your bike fixed." He said, putting on the helmet Sandra gave him. It was black with orange flames on the sides.  
"Nah, it's a new one," She waited for Jacob to get situated and for him to hold onto her before pulling off. She wasn't going that fast just yet, so they could chat normally for now, "The other one was completely totalled in the crash. It took a while, but I convinced my parents to let me drive again."  
"I wish they didn't. I was terrified when they told me what happened, and it hurt seeing you in casts for so long afterwards. You could've _died,_ Sandra."  
  
"Believe me, I know. Mom and dad said that you sent most of those cards and flowers. I appreciated the sentiment.. but it was a little bit much. I'll be more careful this time though, trust me. I, Alisande Roth, still hasn't completed her bucket list!"  
They were approaching the highway now, so Jacob went silent despite having more to say. It wasn't a long drive, only about 25 minutes, but the beach would still probably be packed by the time they got there.

* * *

  
 _Belladonna Cove, Thursday, 3:25 P.M._  
  
As usual, it was a lovely day at Belladonna Cove. The sun was shining, the bird were singing, and more importantly, the beach was empty. Mostly anyway.  
  
It surprised Sandra and Jacob at first, but it did make combing the beach easier. They had noticed a girl with red hair and a white dress and a boy with brown hair and what looked to be a sweater vest walking alongside the shore and to a cave earlier, but they let them be.  
Jacob found plenty of shells for his project, while Sandra dipped her feet in the water after taking off her boots.  
"Hey, what if we brought Jules with us sometime?" Jacob asked, causing Sandra to look back at him unamused.  
"You kidding? That girl hates me! She'd probably try and drown me."  
"Aww, Jules doesn't hate you. She'd never try to kill you."  
" _Bullcrap._ I don't know if you noticed or not, but she's had a permanent scowl on her face ever since we started dating. I tell ya, she's got it out for me." Sandra complained, pulling her boots back on before making her way over to her boyfriend.  
  
Before he could defend his best friend, Jacob paused. He could hear thunder rumbling, and Sandra heard it too. They shared a look for just a second, and ran off to Sandra's motorbike.  
That is, until they saw two women in robes fighting and sparks flying. The woman in the white robes seemed to be losing, and she was suddenly knocked over by the woman in black, who quickly made her way over to her. Oddly enough, the black robed woman had green skin like a frog.  
  
Sandra looked at Jacob again before running off to the two women, "Hey, frog-face! Leave her alone!" The blonde girl shouted, causing Jacob to groan and follow after her. The green woman looked over at Sandra with an eyebrow raised. That gave Jacob enough to to pick up the woman in white and to start dragging her to the cave.   
Meanwhile, Sandra was still distracting the green woman, who was steadly getting angrier. She raised her hands, which began to spark again and...  
  
Before she could do anything to her, Sandra threw sand in her eyes. With a shout, the woman fell over and tried rubbing it out. With this done, Sandra ran over to Jacob and the woman he was dragging. She grabbed the woman by the legs and ran to the cave while Jacob struggled to carry and run at the same time. They did make it, however, and they rested her near the mouth of the cave. The rain had stopped at that point, and they could hear yelling and a loud 'crack' outside, so they relaxed.  
"What in Watcher's name happened?" Asked a slightly raspy female voice from somewhere in the back. Sandra and Jacob looked back in surprise.  
  
There, they saw the girl and boy from earlier staring back at them in shock and slight fear, "Is she alright?" The boy with the sweater asked, partially hidden by the redhead.  
The couple had some explaining to do, and they knew it'd sound very farfetched. Hell, if they didn't just live throught it, they wouldn't have believed it either. Still, they couldn't have any misunderstandings and potentially be arrested.


	3. DeBateau (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes, everyone.
> 
> Also!! Those other teen names mentioned. They're townies that already live in Belladonna.

_Belladonna Cove, Thursday, 3:50 P.M._  
  
When Tara came down to the beach to hang out Justin in their usual spot, they weren't expecting a dead body to be dragged in.  
  
The perps were a pretty blonde girl with plaits and a partially unzipped jumpsuit, and a pretty average looking boy with brown hair and a striped shirt. The woman they dragged in was wearing white and blue robes and a white witch hat.   
"Is she.. dead?" Justin asked, hiding behind Tara as he usually did when something scary or bad happened. She didn't mind when he did such things though.  
"No! She was being attacked by this green woman, but I don't think she died in the attack. At least I hope she didn't." The blonde girl said, nervously twirling her braid. Tara knew a green skinned woman, but due to the presence of PlantSims and aliens, she had to make sure, "What did she look like?"  
"Uh, red hair, black robes, and a witch hat." The average looking boy said, looking everywhere but at Tara and Justin.  
  
As it would turn out, Tara did know who they were referring to. She had seen that woman around town sometimes with Kimberly Cordial, and she always let them be because they were pretty intimidating, "That's Frances McCullough. She's a witch just like the woman on the ground over there, and they _despise_ each other. I think this woman will be fine though."  
The two other teens calmed down a little at this news. They wouldn't be going to the slammer today, and they weren't dragging around a corpse. Justin had finally moved from behind Tara because he now knew they weren't a threat.  
"Who are you two then?" He asked, holding out a hand, "I'm Justin Cleveland, and this is Tara DeBateau."  
"Alisandre Roth. Just call me Sandra, though!" The blonde said, eagerly shaking his hand.  
"Jacob Martin. We're from Riverblossom Hills."  
"Riverblossom, eh? Is it true there's people made of plants there?" Tara asked eagerly. She's always been interested in the supernatural, the paranormal, and downright strange things. This definitely counted as strange.  
"Uh, yeah." Jacob said, "My friend's uncle is married to one, and they're pretty happy together."  
  
Tara's eyes were practically sparkling at the sound of that, "Jacob, my friend! You should bring me to Riverblossom someday. I'd like to interview one."  
"Uh, why?"  
"It's my dream to speak to every non-muggle. Ghost, witch, alien, you name it!" Justin put his hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.  
"Calm down, Tara. You're going to scare them off."  
"Nah, nah, I like her style." Sandra said, grinning, "So.. what are we going to do with this lady? We shouldn't just.. leave her here."  
"Oh, we can take her to my house! Daddy should still be at work, or he'll be too tired to care." Tara grinned.  
"That won't be necessary." A new voice said. The teens all looked around for the source, and soon they looked towards the woman Sandra and Jacob saved. She was sitting up, and looking around at the teens, "Which one of you rescued me?"  
  
Tara and Justin immediately pointed at the other two teens present. Not to get them in trouble or something like that, but because it was the truth. The witch focused on the blonde and brunet.  
"I thank you for rescuing me, but that was dangerous."  
"So? You were knocked out without a chance of defending yourself!" Sandra exclaimed.  
"Witch or not, we weren't just going to stand by and let you get killed." Jacob said, folding his arms.  
"I see. In that case, I'm sure that this won't be our last meeting." The woman stood up, waving her now sparkling hands, "When we meet again, try not to anger Frances again." With a snap and pop, the woman was gone in a flurry of smoke and sparkles.  
  
The teens were silent for a moment, until Justin spoke up.  
"So.. who's hungry?"  


* * *

  
_Center Drip Coffee Shop, 4:00 P.M._  
  
After leaving the beach, Tara and Justin lead their new friends to the local coffee shop.  
  
They could see Ryker Ternynckq and Zoe Kimbrell hanging out at the register with the sales-clerk and their friend Jaqueline Centowski.  
In the very back, Andrzej Harris and his girlfriend Cathy Miller were being lovey dovey as usual.  
Up front on the stage was Pierce Walter, getting most of the people in the café to laugh. In the very front, Kerie Long and her cousin Lilly Seavey were gossiping as they usually did. Ratna Jayapalan and Seth Wade were exchanging some sort of trading cards right outside. As anyone could see, this place was a pretty popular teen hangout like the arcade.  
  
Besides the teens they usually saw in Belladonna Cove, Tara noticed a brunette girl in an orange tracksuit sitting with a boy with long hair and dark clothes. Tara found them pretty interesting, so she lead the group to a table close to the unfamiliar teens.  
"So, order whatever you want! Daddy gave me plenty of money to spend it on anything." Tara said, holding up a wad of cash. Only Jacob seemed surprised at this, but he went to go order his food with everyone else.  
As soon as they sat down with their treats, the unfamiliar girl and boy approached them.  
"Hello! Can we sit with you guys?" The girl asked in a cheerful voice.  
"Jeez, Vi. Not even gonna introduce yourself?" The boy asked, amused. 'Vi' rolled her eyes and smacked the boy in the arm playfully, "I was getting to that, Mr. Capp!"  
The boy got flustered, claiming that wasn't his last name.  
  
Tara laughed, nodding, "Yeah, I like your style. You guys can join us!"  
'Vi' scooted into the booth next to Justin, who suddenly thought that his sweater was more interesting than their new aquaintances. The boy scooted in next to Sandra.  
"So, introductions! I'll go first. I'm Tara DeBateau, Belladonna Cove native." She pat Justin on the shoulder, "This gentleman here is Justin Cleveland. Don't worry ladies, he's single." She winked, earning an embarassed look from Justin, and a giggle from the new girl.  
"Alisandre Roth's the name, and motorbiking's my game. Call me Sandra though, it's way cooler."  
"I'm Jacob Martin, Sandra's boyfriend and most of her impulse control. We're from Riverblossom Hills."  
"Violet Jocque! Desiderata Valley soccer star." She pointed at the boy across from her, "He's my brother from another mother."  
"Rick Contrary. Violet here and Miranda Capp's the only people who really understand me. Vi in particular is my sister from another mister."  
  
Oh Watcher. Rick was emo just like her. She liked him already. She didn't know anyone named Miranda, but based on Violet calling him 'Mr. Capp' earlier and him not calling her his sister, he probably liked her or something.  
"So, what brings you guys to Belladonna?" Justin asked, finally able to look everyone in the eye.  
"Just wanted to hang out, y'know?" Violet said, resting her head on her hands, "Do you think we could stay with you guys for the day? We're new here."  
"S-Sure!" Justin stuttered, earning him a teasing nudge from Tara. He didn't let her teasing bother him this time, however. Tara probably knew what was on his mind though.  
  
She did, by the way.


	4. Jocque-Contrary (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two POVs!
> 
> Who do you want me to write for in the next chapter? And would you like to see Romeo and Meadow more involved with the story since they were side characters in The Sitcom?

_Belladonna Cove, Thursday, 4:15 P.M._  
  
Despite Rick's joking complaints about him burning up, Belladonna Cove wasn't such a bad place to visit.  
  
If she could, she'd definitely live here! But then again, she was only 14. There was no way she'd convince her parents to get them to leave Desiderata Valley, and while she didn't want to leave Rick or the Desiderata Pegasi, it'd be nice to get away from John Mole and his constant prying. Rick liked him, but Violet didn't trust him at all. Why did he always wear those sunglasses? Why did he constantly interrogate her whenever she passed by his house?  
Not even the two new teens, Romeo Monty and Meadow Thayer, seemed to like him. They didn't divulge too much information about themselves, but they did mention they'd be starting school in Desiderata High when it opened back up next month. They'd be juniors, while Violet and Rick would be freshman and sophmore respectively. What was interesting was the fact that they didn't seem to have parents. John noticed that too, and would ask them questions too. They never answered him.  
  
Speaking of school, Violet and Justin seemed to be the youngest teens of the group. Like her, Justin was also going to be a freshman and that's what they bonded over. Tara would be a sophmore like Rick, and Jacob and Sandra would both be juniors. It turned out that Justin, Tara, and Sandra all go to the same private school, and while they had seen each other around the building a few times, they've never spoken to each other before today for some reason.  
Violet, Rick, and Jacob couldn't relate.  
Putting that aside, the group was mostly getting along well. Justin in particular kept trying to avoid Violet for some reason and stuck close to Tara and the Riverblossom teens, so she decided to hand out with Rick instead.  
  
"What do you make of our new friends, Mr. Capp?"  
"Stop calling me that. Anyway, I like them. Tara seems to get me like you and Miranda, Sandra's got a cool motorbike, and Jacob's like the only sane guy here."  
"Yeah? That Justin keeps avoiding me for some reason. I can't quite tell why."  
"Maybe he's got a huge crush on you."  
"Get real, Rick. We just met, y'know? Pretty hard to crush on someone you don't have a read on."  
"Please, Vi. Anyone can read you. You're a nice girl who's really into sports, easy."  
"Aww, shucks! You think I'm nice?" She grinned, resting her head on his shoulder, "Compliment me some more."  
"Ugh, no. I'm not inflating your ego anymore." He said, shoving her off with a snort. She began to pout.  
"Just one more? Pleeeease?"  
"...I guess one more couldn't hurt. Uh, you're really strong?"  
"That works, I guess. You could be strong too if-!" He shushed her.  
"No. You know that I only play instruments."  
  
"Oh really?" Tara asked, sauntering over to Violet and Rick, "What do you play?"  
"Guitar. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty much a god with it." Violet rolled her eyes. He said her ego was inflated, but look at his! She decided to walk away before he decided to show off to the redhead. Since Justin was sitting alone fiddling with his Rolex, Violet approached him.  
"Hey." She said, startling him. He looked ready to get up and bolt at this point, "Oh, please don't go. What did I ever do to you? You've been avoiding me like the plague ever since we left the cafe."  
"Um.. don't take it personally. I'm just.. kinda shy, I guess? Tara's kinda my only friend and that's only because she's my tutor."  
"That's all? I thought you hated me or something! We can be friends too, if you want."  
"Really? Are you sure? My mom's pretty intense, so.."  
"I'm befriending you, not your parents. Sure, we can't hang out too much after soccer starts up, but we can hang out now, can't we?"  
"True.. alright, Violet. That's your name, right?" She nodded, "We can be friends. It may take a while to get used to you though."  
"I can wait. How do you think I managed to befriend Mr. Grouchy Pants over there?" She asked, pointing out Rick. Justin tried but failed to hold in his laughter.  
  
Yeah, this was the start of a beautiful friendship.  


* * *

  
It was official. Tara DeBateau really did get him like Miranda and Violet.  
  
While she was moreso into the paranormal, she taught herself how to play piano just so she could play spooky music to lure the ghosts out. Even he knew learning to play piano was pretty difficult, so he had way more respect for her that he did before. He loved Violet, no question about that, but instruments weren't really her thing. As for Miranda, she was more of a singer. She didn't really like bringing that up though.  
"Have you ever tried out band?" Rick asked.  
"Yeah, but I don't think they'd let me carry around a keyboard or grand piano at private school. Xylophone just isn't the same."  
"I feel you. Drums are great, but there's just something about guitar that just does it for me."  
"We've gotta perform together sometime then! You on whatever guitar you want, and me on piano or keyboard! It'd be great."  
"I like the way you think. We can perform for our friends or something too."  
  
It's like their minds were in sync or something. Despite her gloomy appearance and somewhat dull voice, she was pretty cheerful. Not to Violet or Desdemona Capp level, but still pretty cheerful.  
"So, how'd you meet Violet? You two seem like complete opposites." Tara asked.  
"She smacked me in the face with a soccer ball at one of her practices in the park. I yelled at her, and she yelled right back at me. After that, we began getting on each other's nerves and struck up a friendship."  
"Yeesh. I wish my story was as interesting as hers."  
"Yeah? Well, how'd you meet Cleveland? He doesn't seem to be the kind of person to strike up a friendship on his own."  
"You're right, he isn't. His mom asked me to start tutoring him last year. He ended up getting more distracted, so she's trying to get him into the military."  
"The military? No offense, but that doesn't seem like his type of thing. He looks like he'd rather be inside reading a book."  
"Trust me, it isn't. He wanted to go into law or journalism. I'm pretty sure she thinks it's my fault he's so distracted."  
"Is it?"  
"Of course not! He's distracted because she won't get off his back!"  
  
Rick patted her shoulder in sympathy, "I can relate. My parents won't leave me alone when I ask, and they're constantly trying to hover over me."  
"Man. Daddy leaves me alone when I ask, but it's usually me asking to him to hang out with him."  
"I'd kill to have a dad like yours."  
"Haha... you wouldn't. You'd have to deal with women trying to get with him for his money. That, or they'll try and get me to like them so I can put in a good word for them."  
"That sounds pretty annoying. Do you actually help them?"  
"No way. I don't bring them up to Daddy at all, because I know they'd probably get on his nerves too. He doesn't exactly trust like that because of his ex wife before he adopted me."  
"Serves 'em right for trying butter you up. Is there _anyone_ you'd want to see with him?"  
"At the moment? No way. I'm fine with a stepmother, but not if she's super materialistic!"  
  
Just then, Sandra and Jacob got up and walked to Sandra's bike.  
"Where are you guys going?" Tara asked?  
"Little Jules wanted to see Jacob." Sandra said, scrunching up her face in disgust, "I'm taking him home so she can stop blowing up his phone." With a small 'humpf', she ignored Jacob's tries to calm her down and busied herself with starting up the bike. Finally, he sighed.  
"Sorry about her. They really don't like each other for some reason."  
"It's good." Rick waved him off, "Let's meet up again tomorrow, yeah? You guys should come over to Desiderata or something."  
"Sounds good to me. I have to go too, actually." Justin said, checking his watch again, "Mother's going to kill me if I'm not home for supper."  
"I'll walk you home then." Tara said, "See you guys later!"  
They all waved goodbye to each other before taking their respective home.  
  
Rick had called a taxi, so now the two teens left behind were waiting for it.  
"They're a nice bunch, aren't they?" Violet asked.  
"I guess. I can't believe I invited them to Desiderata though."  
"Me either. Now John's going to be drawn to us like a moth to a flame."  
"Hey, he's not _that_ bad, Vi. Give him a chance."  
"No thank you. He creeps me out, and he's too nosy for my tastes. Where are we going to take our friends anyway?"  
"Your loss then. I was thinking of the sports park, by the way. That's really the only place we hang out because we're way too old for the Kiddie Care Castle."  
"The age limit _is_ fifteen, so.. oh, don't give me that look. I was kidding! Spark sounds great." The taxi had pulled up now, and Violet pushed past him to get in first.  
  
Violet did have a point about the John thing though. What would they think about the man pretty much stalking them all day? They'd just have to wait and see.


	5. Cordial (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I decided on doing the Cordial sisters! They're almost like Angela and Lilith in a way.

_218 Bay View Drive, Thursday, 4:35 P.M._  
  
Samantha Cordial sat in the living room with her friend, Phoebe Adams, holding a teacup.  
  
"Thank you for coming. I'm really worried about Kimmy."  
"How come?"  
"Well, she's been coming home later and later without remembering why. I know she's not on dates, because she would've mentioned it. She's also been more.. distracted lately."  
"Could it be magic? There are spells that allow you to control people, but they're quite advanced."  
"It's.. possible. But there's no way for me to confirm it right now. Now, enough of that. Didn't you have something to tell me too?"  
"Yes. Today I was ambushed by Frances. She's been getting stronger, and she surely would have come close to overpowering me if it weren't for this group of teens who rescued me. I've sensed great magical potential in them, and--"  
"Wait, Phoebe. More teens? Aren't the kids you adopted enough? Or the Tricou cousins? I don't think we should drag more of them into this.. You and Frances have been at it for ten years at this point, so why not call it quits? Why do you even choose teens?" Samantha never really called people out, let alone the high witch of Belladonna Cove, but considering Phoebe was endangering the lives of teens including her own adoptive children? There's no way she could let this slide.  
  
"It's easier to train them when they're young, Samantha. That's when their magic is strongest. We've been over this." Phoebe said calmly, "This conflict won't be resolved that easily. As for the Newsons and Fricorith and Gvaudoin, there are strength in numbers, no?"  
"Yes, but-!"  
"I understand that you're worried about them, but you're a witch too now. You could protect them if you really wanted to." The High Witch finally stood up, mumbling a spell to open a portal, "I'm going back to the Palace. Please come by later tonight, because I may have a solution for your sister problem." With that, she left through the shimmering blue portal. Said portal stayed there for a moment, then disappeared.  
  
Samantha sat on the couch for a while longer, looking troubled. It felt like Phoebe didn't really care about her feelings on the matter. She knew that the High Witch was supposed to be wise and good and knowing more than her, but it was wrong for her to raise the Newsons like this, knowing they'd probably die. And the Tricous teens were a special case; Phoebe had managed to revive them and their entire family without turning them into zombies. While they still could walk through walls and float and possess things if they focused hard enough, the adults preferred to live as humans. After all, why not take advantage of their chance for a second life? Fricorith and Gvaudoin, on the other hand, liked switching between lifestates to scare people and much to Phoebe's annoyance, they gravitated more towards Dark spells. She had allowed them to stay in the Palace with her and the Newsons despite this. At least the Newsons preferred the Light, hence why she seemed to favor them rather than the Tricous.  
  
Samantha herself gravitated towards the light as well. That's probably why Phoebe kept her around despite her opposition. She tried getting through to Kimberly, but she just wasn't interested. When Frances came around, it was like she was a completely different person. Kimberly was far more interested in Dark magic than Light, and Samantha didn't really see a problem with that. While she didn't like Frances that much, Dark magic seemed pretty interesting. Kimberly just had to make sure that she was controlling the magic, not the other way around. She would tell Phoebe about Kimberly and Frances.. but ultimately decided against it. What if she forced her away from her sister? They had finally started getting along with each other.  
  
While she did genuinely like Phoebe, she was far too secretive for Samantha's tastes.  


* * *

  
_Fortress of Eternal Darkness, 5:00 P.M._  
  
Kimberly felt bad for sneaking around behind her sister's back like this, but what could she do?  
  
Samantha was friends with the enemy. Samantha could easily tell Phoebe everything, according to Frances. That's why the High Witch took some of her memories every night before she went back home. Of course, Kimberly had agreed to all of this. If Phoebe knew about this, what would she do? Kimberly knew Samantha _might_ stand up to the Light witch for her, but just like Kimberly's loyalty to Frances, Samantha was probably just as loyal to Phoebe. Was that good for their own relationship? Not particularly. One day, they'd be forced to choose a side to be loyal to. Kimberly knew that she'd stay by Samantha's side until the end of time, but France was slowly changing her mind. Add in the whole Phoebe thing, and she was even more conflicted.  
  
"Would you like to become a witch?" Frances asked, stony-faced as usual. Frances asked that every time they met up. Kimberly usually said no, but this time..  
"Yes, actually. If you're right about Phoebe and my sister, then I want to be ready."  
"If? No, I _am_ right. Phoebe hates Dark magic users, and she spreads lies about us." With that, the green woman handed Kimberly an extra wand, "Hold onto that and close your eyes." Kimberly did so, hearing Frances snap and the candles' flames go out as if wind had extinguished them.  
"I will now recite the ritual. Stay very still while I do so." Kimberly could hear the woman clearing her throat, "Reality's fabric, take hold of this woman. Teach her to use magic, show the Path to walk in!" Nothing happened at first, but then Kimberly had felt a freezing sensation go down her spine as if Frances had poured a cold glass of water over her head. It was uncomfortable, but she didn't squirm.  
  
"You may open your eyes now." And so Kimberly did so as Frances lit the candles again. Nothing about her appearance had really changed, but she did note the subtle green aura around her hands, "What do I do now?"  
"Come, come. We're going outside so you can practice your spellwork. We'll do some simple ones first, just to see how strong your magic is." Kimberly let Frances drag her outside into the Fortress' courtyard. She was pretty excited to actually do magic now! Despite her gruff exterior, Frances could give some pretty good constructive criticism if and when she cared enough, "By the way, could you allow me to keep my memories tonight?"  
"Why?"  
"Well.. it'd be easier to practice at home, right? It's almost like homework."  
"I suppose you're right about that. You must take care not to let any muggles see you, however. No one needs to find out you're a witch right now, and especially not your sister or Phoebe. Do you understand?"  
"Of course, Frances."   
  
The witch gave her an approving nod. You know, even though Frances was 'evil', she did have her nice moments. This was probably because she was once a teacher herself in the past. While there were other people in the Fortress that could've helped Kimberly, Frances wanted to take her under her wing for some reason.  
That made Kimberly really happy for some reason.


	6. Tricou-Newson (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another double whammy with the Tricous and Newsons!
> 
> I got the idea today to add the Tricous to the story. I don't know about you, but I think they'd be into magic.

_Belladonna Cove, Thursday, 5:30 P.M._  
  
As much as the Tricou teens loved being human again, they weren't willing to _completely_ give up their ghostly ways.  
  
Phoebe hated when Fricorith and Gvaudoin possessed the furniture, but it wasn't like she could force them not to do it. That involved actually catching them. So instead, Phoebe sent them both out of the Palace so she could focus on perfect little Gavin and Ginger Newson.  
Before you get any ideas, they didn't actually hate each other. Far from it in fact. It made sense that Phoebe would focus more on her adoptive children as opposed to them, but she could at least _try_ to hide her disdain for them practicing Dark magic. It wasn't like their skin was turning green like Frances, and they certainly weren't using those spells on other people. You know, besides when they were duelling against Gavin and Ginger.  
Phoebe had kicked Fricorith and Gvaudoin out for a few hours while she and the Newsons practiced a few spells. They didn't mind this, however. If she tried yelling at them for coming back late, they could just point out that she never told them _when_ to come back.  
  
"Gvau." Fricorith said, causing his older cousin to look over at him.  
"What's up?"  
"Do you wanna cause a little trouble? Pheebs isn't here to stop us." Gvaudoin's eyes twinkled, and she nodded.  
"You don't even have to ask. Meet up at the castle?"  
"Yeah." With that, they both paused and closed their eyes. They felt their bodies become lighter and lighter until they felt themselves begin to float. That's when they finally opened their eyes. Judging by each other's nods, their transformations were a success, "See you later, Gvau. Try not to get caught."  
"Me? You're the one who nearly got us caught last time!" Gvaudoin laughed before flying off. Fricorith scoffed, flying away in the opposite direction.  
  
Because there weren't many people out and about at the moment, Fricorith quickly got bored. At least, until he saw _her._ She was leaving one of the nice apartment complexes up on the hill, shouting to someone inside. She was a pretty girl, honestly. Her hair was red and it was cut in a bob that reminded him too much of Ginger. The most interesting thing about her, however, was the fact she was carrying a small box with something in it. She was walking to the back of the building and towards the lake and the wooded area, so Fricorith decided to follow her. She stopped a couple of feet away from the lake, and placed the box down in front of her as she sat. He finally got a look at what she was holding which ended up not being a box; It was a spirit board. Back when he was a full time ghost, communicating with these things and scaring teens who used them was one of his favorite past times. He sat across from her, waiting for her to ask a question.  
"Okay. Now that I'm alone, the spirits shouldn't be so shy tonight." The mystery girl took a deep breath before speaking again, "This is the second time I've attempted to contact you this week. Now that we're all alone.. Phantoms, spirits, ghosts, earthbounds-- are you here with me tonight?" Fricorith moved the small planchette in front of him.  
 _'Yes.'_ The girl looked excited at the sight of this. A nice change from the scared teenagers he's seen in the past.  
"Okay! Okay, calm down, Tara.. will you harm me, otherworldly being?"   
_'No.'_  
"So you're a friendly spirit. That's good. Can you spell out your name for me?"  
 _'F-R-I-C-O-R-I-T-H.'_  
"Fricorith? Did I say that correctly?"  
 _'Yes.'_  
"Okay, nice to contact you, Fricorith! My name is Tara. May I see you?" Fricorith paused for a moment, thinking if he should or shouldn't. On one hand, Phoebe would probably get mad at him. On the other, he could potentially make a new friend. "It's fine if I can't. I can just ask you something else." She added quickly.  
  
Well, he had nothing to lose. Phoebe didn't have to know what was happening tonight. He slowly began to fade into existence, causing Tara to gasp. When he was finally in his human form again, he gave the girl a small smirk.  
"Boo." The girl didn't looked scared, which was pretty interesting. If anything, she looked happy to see him.  
"You're a real ghost!"  
"In the flesh. Aren't you afraid of me?"  
"Why would I be? This is amazing! I've got so many questions!"  
"One at a time, girly. We've got all night."  
"Okay, okay!" She managed to calm down long enough to ask her first question, "How do you have a corporeal form?"  
"A witch revived me and my family. Me and my cousin wanted to stay half ghost though."  
"Can you do magic then?"  
"Oh yeah. You may wanna cover your eyes first." After confirming Tara wouldn't be blinded, Fricorith pulled out his wand and waved it for a moment. He knew this incantation by heart because it was his favorite one to use, other than the food spell. With a bright flash of orange light and a pop, a grey cat had appeared in Fricorith's lap, "You can open 'em now."  
When Tara did, she gasped and immediately started petting the cat, "You have a Spectral cat familiar?!"  
"Smart girl. How do you know about this stuff anyway?"  
"I love the occult and weird things. I've been reading up on this stuff for a long time."  
"Huh. I see." Fricorith had an idea. Phoebe may get pissed, but he certainly didn't care. "Can you take a trip with me tomorrow?"  
Tara bit her lip, shaking her head, "I've got plans, actually.. how about the day after?"  
"Works for me. I think you're going to love where I'm taking you, but first you have to promise me something. You can't tell anyone about where I'm taking you, or tell them that I'm actually a ghost."  
"You have my word!"  
  
Well, this was going to be fun.

* * *

  
 _Palace of Neverending Light, 6:30 P.M._  
  
Gavin Newson rested his back against the balcony railing, wand sitting next to him. Practice had been simple tonight, but he wished the Tricous could've stayed to do it with them.  
  
"I know you're there, Gvau." Said girl phased into existence on the railing of the balcony, huffing in annoyance.  
"How do you always know it's me and not Fricorith?"  
"Fricorith's too busy causing trouble for Mom and Ginger right now. Besides, you're the only one who meets me up here around this time."  
"True. So, what's up? What did we miss while we were gone?"  
"Well, Mom said we're going to get new teen spellcasters studying here soon."  
"Tell me you're not joking, Gav. It's been _ages_ since we've had fresh meat here. You and your siblings were the most recent teens, and that was like two years ago."  
"I'm not joking. The group consists of three boys and three girls. Mom found the first four after they rescued her from an ambush by Frances."  
"That's wicked! Did she mention their names?"  
"Nope. Apparently we're supposed to go out and recruit them ourselves. They're going to be in Desiderata tomorrow afternoon, so that's when we're going to meet up with them."  
  
Gavin thought Gvaudoin was more pretty when she smiled. Right now was no exception.  
"Ignoring the fact that Pheebs is stalking a bunch of teenagers, I can't wait to meet everyone. I'm going to get some of my potions ready for them to try after dinner."  
"Gvau, you can't use the new kids as test subjects."  
"Have a little faith in me, Gav. I'm bringing out the good stuff."  
"You mean the ones that taste and smell like candy?"  
"Yep. Pheebs would probably murder me if I did anything to make them think the wizarding world was bad."  
"True, true. Mom can be pretty intense sometimes."  
"Sometimes? Ha! She _never_ leaves me and Fricorith alone. Don't do this, don't do that. You'd think _we_ were her kids instead of you guys."  
"I'm sorry on her behalf then. I know she hates Dark magic, but that's no excuse for her treating you guys like this. I know that the two of you would never let yourselves get corrupted like Frances did."  
"It's fine, nothing she does will get us to change our mind. We're sticking to the Dark whether she likes it or not."  
  
It was nice to see Gvaudoin standing up for herself. She once told him that she had been pretty meek in the past, but that changed after she and her family were murdered for being suspected witches/vampires/lycans. They weren't any of those, if you must know. Those people had probably long forgotten about the Tricous already, but the Tricous didn't forget what was done to them. While they were pretty pissed off at their demises, they weren't hellbent on getting revenge. They had ended up getting a second chance at life, and they didn't have to endure being called freaks by the town. While aliens and PlantSims were slowly being accepted into society, the occults were still pretty much stuck in their own personal communities located in places like Magic Town, Midnight Hollow, Moonlight Falls, and this realm here. While witch/vampire/pixie/lycan hunters were pretty rare these days, the occult still seemed to not be trusted by the government. This was probably because of Frances' reign of terror, and the people who died in her and Phoebe's clashes over the years.  
  
"Hey, Gav." He shook his head, looking over at the black haired girl, "Simoleon for your thoughts?"  
"Oh, sorry. Don't worry about it."  
"Right.. do you wanna go grab some dinner downstairs and head up to my room afterwards? I want to show you the tarot cards I painted last night and I want to help me with my potions."  
"I'd love to. Last one there's a Stink Juice potion." Gvaudoin was already sinking through the balcony as a ghost, so Gavin grabbed his wand and said the teleportation incantation he learned a week ago. It wasn't perfect yet, but at least he managed to get there the same time as Gvaudoin.  
  
Ginger and Fricorith shared a look once their respective siblings arrived downstairs and argued about who made it there first. Did everything have to be a race with them?  
Okay, sure, Ginger and Fricorith did the same exact thing a minute ago, but that wasn't important right now!


	7. Roth (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jules makes an appearance!  
> Virginia and Cleve are townies from Riverblossom Hills. Since Xander's the only premade kid with a story in Riverblossom, I decided to let some of the townies in on the fun.
> 
> And yes. Xander, Virginia, and Cleve are essentially Riverblossom's equivalent of Alexander, Lucy, and Buck/Beau.

_Desiderata Valley, Friday, 12:10 P.M._

It was no secret that Sandra and Jules O'Mackey hated each other. So when Jules asked to join her and Jacob in Desiderata Valley, Sandra nearly lost it.

Rick and Violet didn't even invite her! And here she was, forcing herself into the group. For Jacob's sake, she agreed to bringing Jules along, but that meant she had to ride all the way home and grab her convertible instead of the motorbike. At least Jules had to sat in the back seat all alone.  
"So, why are we going to Desiderata Valley anyway?" Jules asked, causing Sandra to roll her eyes.  
"When me and Sandra went over to Belladonna Cove yesterday, we met two teens from Desiderata. They invited us along with two teens from Belladonna."  
"Sounds fun! I can't wait to meet your new friends." At this point, Sandra blocked out the rest of the conversation, busying herself with the GPS. Violet and Rick told them to meet them at a place called Spark! Sports Park, which they found pretty quickly.

"We're here." Sandra said briskly, exiting the car as soon as she pulled into a parking space. Jacob and Jules shared a look before hopping out after her.  
"You go on ahead, Jules. Look for a girl in an orange tracksuit or a guy wearing a black muscle shirt." The redhead nodded, running ahead. Jacob turned his attention to a sulking Sandra, lightly grabbing her arm.  
"What's wrong, Sandra?"  
"Everything! Why did she have to come with us? Rick and Violet don't even know her." So, that's what this was all about. He had a feeling that this was the reason, but he needed to confirm it.  
"I didn't want her to be lonely while we went out and had fun. Can't you get along with her for my sake?"  
"I'm not the person you should be telling that to. She's hated me ever since we got together. I don't know what her damage is, but if she's going to be rude to me, I'll return the favor."  
"Look, Sandra. If you promise to try and get along with her, I'll convince her to try and get along with you. I'm not going to choose between the both of you."  
"...Fine. But don't expect much from either of us, got it?"

Jacob sighed and nodded, walking Sandra into the building. It was worth a shot.  
When they stepped in, they saw Jules chatting up Justin and Violet. Rick was sitting on a bench with his phone in his hand, while Tara was nowhere to be found.  
"Boo." Someone had slammed their hands on their shoulders, so Sandra and Jacob looked around only to see Tara standing between them, grinning, "Who's the new girl?"  
"Her name is Jules O'Mackey. She's Jacob's friend." Surprisingly, Sandra managed to say her name without gagging.  
"Cool, cool. By the way, one of my new friends will be joining us later too."  
"What's their name?" Jacob asked.  
"His name's Fricorith. We met yesterday after I walked Justin home, and he agreed to come by and meet you guys too."  
"I'm pretty excited to meet him myself. What's he like?"  
"Pretty gothic, but he doesn't really act all gloomy like a goth."

While Tara and Jacob chatted with each other, Sandra decided to wander outside. Desiderata really was a lovely place, even though the humidity was making her hair begin to frizz up. Like Belladonna, it was by the shore which made Sandra pretty jealous. Riverblossom was by a body of water too, but the adults always told them not to swim in it because it was a somewhat deep river. Did Sandra and Jacob ever listen? No way. After all, that's where Sandra and Jacob had their first kiss after they first confessed their attraction to each other.  
It always made her giddy whenever she thought about it. Anyway, Sandra decided to sit out by the soccer field by herself. She wasn't particularly into sports like Violet or some of the other teens, but she did manage to keep in shape by fixing up her bike and occasionally the convertible too. There weren't many people here, surprisingly, but she did notice a man wearing all black and sunglasses creeping around the edge of the property. She also noticed that he had been watching her for a while now, so she stared right back until he finally left. What a weirdo.

Was that the John Mole that Violet warned them about? That man definitely matched her description of him, and he gave off an untrustworthy vibe too. Brr.. she'd hate to meet him again anytime soon.

* * *

_Hills Community Center, 1:00 P.M._

Xander Roth dangled his feet over the docks, staring out into the lake deep in thought. He had finally convinced his father to take him to the park, but Morty ended up chatting up a woman named Diana instead of playing with him.

"Oh no, I know that look." Cleve Day said, whispering to a girl named Virginia Gothier. Cleve and Virginia were Xander's closest friends and confidants, and while he was pretty popular with the kids in his school, Cleve and Virginia were there before all of that.  
"So, what's our new get rich quick scheme today, Boss?" Virginia asked, staring up at the clouds. Xander was silent for a while longer, until he finally raised a finger and turned to the blondes triumphantly.  
"Why, I'm glad you asked, dear Virginia! We're going to be extending our services to Belladonna Cove and Desiderata Valley."  
"Yeah? And how do you plan on doing that?" Cleve asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"It's quite simple, Cleveland! Sandra and Jacob Martin are always going out of town, right? Why not ask them to bring our galaxy jars and and other knick-knacks along?"  
"It's a brilliant idea, Xander! What if we went along with them? We should be the ones to sell what we made." Virginia said, finally sitting up to look at the boys.  
"You know what? You both may be onto something there. It's easier for me to add up the costs and split the cash equally in person." Cleve said, nodding.

"Once again, my wisdom reigns supreme."  
"Our wisdom." Virginia said, jabbing Xander in the forehead.  
"Okay, okay, our wisdom.."  
"So, what town should we sell to first? Belladonna Cove has more people, but we wouldn't get lost in Desiderata Valley."  
"Belladonna Cove." Xander said after careful deliberation, "As you said, it's a big place. Go big or go home, right? We could probably ask someone there to assist us too."  
"Got it. Virginia, can you host a sleepover tonight? We need to make way more products."  
"I think I can! We just need to go out and buy some more supplies first because we used up most of our stuff for our limited edition summer stuff."  
"Alright, we can do that. Xander, can you ask your dad to take us to the store?"  
"No can do, Chief. Just look at the guy." Xander said, pointing at his father. Morty looked deeply interesting in his conversation with Diana, who seemed to be openly flirting with him. Of course, since the kids weren't near them, they couldn't confirm this.  
"...I see your point. Well, wanna play until they're done with whatever it is they're talking about?"  
"Yes. We need to brainstorm what theme we're going for first, however. We can't do the beach again, so.." Virginia said.  
"Works for us." Cleve said.

What was this whole thing about jars and selling, you may ask? Well, Xander had always loved money. He loved earning it from doing chores around the house, and spending it on expensive things to wow the kids at school. He got tired of doing chores, however, and decided to go even bigger and start selling things. He didn't want to sell lemonade or cookies like most kids though. No, he brainstormed with Cleve and Virginia last summer and came up with the idea to sell arts and crafts. Their most popular item were galaxy jars.  
Xander was the boss of this operation because it was his idea, Cleve was the accountant and sales manager because he was the best at maty, and Virginia was the one who actually made the stuff and made advertisements because of how creative and loud she was. They usually helped each other with each part of the small business despite this though.

The business had been going well at first, but now that everyone's bought at least one product from them, they needed a new audience.  
In their eyes, the neighboring towns were the best places to start.


	8. DeBateau (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teens finally get a glimpse into the magical world!

_Spark! Sports Park, Friday, 1:25 P.M._  
  
Tara liked Desiderata Valley, but she could do without being stalked. Totally unrelated, but now she understood what Violet meant about nosy neighbors.  
  
The new teens were questioned by some shady guy named John Mole about the whereabouts of a woman named Dina Caliente. While none of them had seen her, Sandra and Jacob mentioned a woman named Diana Caldo who had recently moved into Riverblossom Hills. While it was probably a coincidence, John seemed to take this piece of information quite seriously and left them be, mumbling something underneath his breath as he left.  
Now, Tara watched Violet, Justin, Jules, and Jacob have a small soccer match with Rick and Sandra as goalies. Because of Violet's skill, her and Justin were in the lead while Sandra rested against the goal. That didn't mean she was lazy, however. Whenever the ball got close enough to her, Sandra kicked it halfway across the court.  
  
"Hey, girly. Have you seen someone named Tara around here? She's about your height, and has your haircut." Tara jumped upon hearing a voice in her ear. She turned to see Fricorith snickering from beside her, and smacked him in the shoulder.  
"Haha, very funny. What're you doing here anyway?"  
"Can't a guy hang out with his cousin and his friends?" As if on cue, three other teenagers approached them. One was a girl with ice blue lipstick and a school uniform similar to Tara's, there was a girl with a haircut similar to her own but black, and finally, a boy with closely cropped hair.  
"Do you plan on introducing them?"   
"We can do it ourselves. I'm Gvaudoin, Fricorith's aforementioned cousin." The girl with the ice blue lipstick said.  
"Ginger." The girl with Tara's haircut said, giving the group a short wave.  
"And I'm Gavin, Ginger's brother." The last boy said, smiling.  
"Nice to meet you guys. Do you want to watch this match with me?"  
  
Actually, the game had just finished. The soccer group approached Tara and the new teens, waving.  
"Who are your friends, Tara?" Violet asked, tying her orange track jacket around her waist. As Gvaudoin, Ginger, and Gavin introduced themselves to everyone else, Tara pulled Fricorith away to speak to him in private.  
"Aww, were you hoping to get me alone all along? At least take me out to dinner before asking me to snog." Fricorith said, smirking at Tara's flustered reaction.  
"No flirting until we've known each other for at least a week! That's not what I wanted though. Why are you really here? This can't be a coincidence."  
"You've got me." The blond said, raising his hands, "You know how I wanted to take you out somewhere tomorrow? Well, turns out I have you today."  
"Wait, what? But I'm--"  
"I know, I know, you didn't let me finish. I was hoping to show you and only you, but turns out your friends are coming too."  
"What's the occasion? And what exactly is this place you're talking about?"  
"Well..." Fricorith looked to see Gvaudoin waving them back to the group, "I'll have to explain when we get there. Gvau's ready to go."  
  
And so they walked back to the group. Gvaudoin, Gavin, and Ginger all looked excited about something.  
"We're all here? Good." Ginger said, nodding, "Well, you're probably wondering why we're here."  
"We've been asked to bring you somewhere, and all will be explained there." Gavin said.  
"Save your questions for after the trip. Oh, and you may want to stick close to us for this part, otherwise you'll probably get lost." The teens all shared a look as Gvaudoin pulled a wooden stick from her bun while the three other teens pulled wooden sticks out of their pockets. Fricorith and Gvaudoin's were black with red gems imbedded in them, while Ginger and Gavin's were white with golden stars on them.  
"You're.. you're occult?" Sandra asked softly. Her expression was a mix of surprise and slight fear.  
  
Either they didn't hear her, or they didn't care about her question. Out of the four teens, only Gavin and Gvaudoin were the ones to actually say an incantation out loud. Either way, a large blue portal had appeared in front of them.  
"So, who's first?" Fricorith asked.  


* * *

  
_Palace of Neverending Light, 1:45 P.M._  
  
Surprisingly, nothing went wrong with their trip through the swirling portal. It was pretty cold though, and Tara hated that.  
  
Their destination was another story. It was a large, white palace looking building surrounded by a forest. People, mostly adults and a few older teens, were practicing spells and duelling outside. They could see a figure standing on the balcony, looking over everything. They couldn't make out their appearance that well because they were too far up and they had entered the building upon seeing them.  
"What is this place?" Justin asked, jaw dropping.  
"Welcome to the Palace of Neverending Light." Gavin said, leading everyone through the large doors.  
"This is one of the few safe places for the occult to safely gather." Gvaudoin said.  
"So wait, you're all _witches_?" Jules asked, looking in awe at the architecture.  
"Gavin and I prefer the term _warlock,_ but yes. We can do magic." Fricorith said.  
"So, why'd you bring us here?" Rick asked, "None of us can do magic."  
  
"Allow me to answer that." A feminine voice said. They turned to see a woman practically gliding towards them. She was wearing a blue dress with a white robe and matching pointed hat.  
"You! You're that woman we saved yesterday!" Sandra exclaimed, pointing at the woman.  
"Astute observation. Now, you're probably wondering why I had those four bring you here, yes?"  
"Yeah, what's up with that?" Violet asked, folding her arms.  
"You all have magical potential," The woman paused as her eyes sweeped over the group until they landed on Jules, "I'm certain I asked for six people. Why is there a seventh?"  
Gavin and Ginger winced, but Gvaudoin answered for them, "It'd be pretty rude if her friends up and vanished on her, no?"  
"Besides, she probably has just as much aptitude as everyone else." Fricorith added. The woman stared at them for a moment before shaking her head.  
  
"Fine, fine. She can stay, but only because it's too late to send her back now." She cleared her throat, "As I was saying, I sensed magical potential in all of you. I figured that we should teach you to harness said potential."  
"Hold on, hold on, hold on. Isn't magic like, illegal?" Sandra asked, folding her arms.  
"Technically only spells are. Alchemy is perfectly fine because it's essentially chemistry." Gvaudoin said, approaching the blonde with a small yellow vial, "Speaking of, try this for me."  
"This isn't poison, is it?" Sandra asked, cautiously taking the vial to inspect it.  
Gvaudoin only shrugged in reply. Well, at least it smelled like some sort of candy...?  
"Wait." The woman said, "Before you drink that, allow me to lay down some ground rules."  
Fricorith and Gvaudoin groaned at this.  
"Gvaudoin, you are not to use them as guinea pigs. Neither of you are allowed to do your little tricks on them. You all are to meet back here at sunset. And if you need anything, ask some of the other spellcasters before me. Am I clear?"  
The teens nodded in response. The woman seemed to approve of this answer, and disappeared as quick as she came with a bang.  
  
"...Okay, so.. let's partner up, yeah?" Ginger said, "You. Labcoat chick, with me." Jules seemed offended by the labcoat comment, but went to the girl's side anyway.  
"Tara, my love." Fricorith said dramatically, causing Tara to sigh and walk over to the boy, "I can show you the world."  
"Show me another time. I want to see the palace first."  
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe... blondie, you're with me! You still need to show me the effects of that potion!" Gvaudoin said with an evil grin, "Bring your little boyfriend along too." Sandra and Jacob groaned in apprehension, following behind the mad scientist.  
"Who'd like to come with me?" Gavin asked calmly. Rick quickly made his way over to the boy, smiling brightly at Violet for once.  
"Have fun with Justin, Vi." He said, causing the brunette girl to groan like Sandra and Justin did before her.  
  
Let's hope the teens don't get into _too much_ trouble while they're here.


	9. Jocque-Contrary (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teens go to the palace, and they meet some other new friends!
> 
> Kestrel and Patrick (siblings) and Orion and Loren (cousins) are the only ones who are actually related in this group. You could call them a found family too, honestly.

_Palace of Neverending Light, Friday, 2:00 P.M._  
  
Well, now that Justin and Violet were alone together, they needed to find something to do. They decided to wander outside to watch people duel and practice spells.  
  
"What do you make of all of this, Justin?" Violet asked, hugging her knees as they sat in the shade of two large pink and white weeping willows.  
"I think it's weird. I thought magic was a myth to tell you the truth. But here we are, being thrust headfirst into all of it."  
"Tell me about it. What would our families say if we started studying it like everyone here?"  
"My mom would probably shut me up in the house until she can ship me off to military school."  
"Jeez. I'm more scared of how my neighbors would react, honestly. Do you remember the guy who interrogated you all earlier?"  
"John Mole?"  
"That's the guy. He'd probably tell the SCIA or something. Everyone knows that he's in it." Justin shivered in fear at the sound of this. He'd really be in for it if the SCIA came for him. His mom would probably pin it all on Tara, knowing her.  
  
"Whoa! Watch out, dudes!" They barely had any time to roll out of the way before someone came flying at them, getting stuck in the branches of the willow. That person was silent for a moment, then they began to laugh, "Did you guys see that?! That was awesome!"   
"Gnarly wipeout, bro!" A girl shouted, running up to the tree. Her outfit was suspiciously identical to Jules', and her hairstyle was pretty out there.  
"Tiave! Are you okay?!" Another girl was running up to them, and her outfit could only be described as some sort of 1920s throwback paired a dainty black parasol.   
"I'm more than okay, dudette! I wish one of you got that on camera though!" The person in the tree climbed down, clutching a broomstick. His hair was styled like Fricorith's, and he was wearing a red and puffy vest, "You guys saw that, right?" The boy asked, referring to Violet and Justin.  
  
"Barely.." Justin said, shaking in slight fear.  
"What exactly was that?" Violet asked, dusting off her clothes.  
"This bonehead right here--" The girl with weird hair put an arm around the boy and put him into a headlock, "--Thought he could copy my tricks. He totally failed though!"  
"I could've though!" The boy complained. As they fought, the other girl turned her attention to Violet and Justin.  
"Sorry about them.. are you two new here? I haven't seen you before."  
"You could say that.." Justin said, rubbing the back of his head.  
"Apparently we've got magical potential, according to that woman in the white robes." Violet said.  
"Woman in the white... Oh! You guys are the new spellcasters Miss Phoebe mentioned then! It's nice to meet you! My name is Kestrel." She held out her hands for Justin and Violet to shake. They immediately noted how freezing cold they were, and became aware of how sickly her and the two other teens looked, as if they never left the house. "The old married couple over there are Swan and Tiave."  
"We're not an old married couple! I'm just tired of the guy copying my moves and _failing miserably._ " Swan huffed, folding her arms.  
"I'll get it someday, Swan. Mark my words!"   
  
"Tricks on a broom...?" Violet wondered out loud.  
"Oh yeah. Haven't you ever flown on one, dudette?" Tiave asked.  
"Um, no?" Swan and Tiave shared a look before Tiave handed Violet his broom, "You're gonna need this more than me then. Swannie and I are gonna teach you how to fly!" Violet gave Justin a look that was her silently asking for help as she was dragged away by the two teens, but he only gave her an apologetic look in return.  
"Is girl that your girlfriend?" Kestrel suddenly asked, causing the boy to jump.  
"No! I mean, she's a girl that's probably my friend but-"  
"You're not dating, I get it."  
"...Yeah, that. We forgot to mention this, but my name's Justin. That girl was Violet."  
"Nice. Do you want to sit down again? They'll probably be at it the whole day." Justin nodded, sitting back under the willows with Kestrel.  
  
"So, I'm sorry if this is rude.. but why are your hands so cold?"  
"I'm a vampire." She said bluntly.  
"A vampire? Are you gonna...?"  
"Watcher, no!" She looked scandalized, "I can keep those urges in check until dinner, thank you very much!"  
"I'm sorry! It's just that you never really hear about vampires, so.."  
"I guess I can forgive you in that case. We have a pretty bad rep in your world, I know."  
"So, um, are Swan and Tiave vampires too?"  
"Swan's technically a dhampir, but yes. You'll probably meet them later, but Orion and Loren are lycans, and my adoptive brother Patrick's a normal person-turned-warlock."  
"If you're vampires, how come you guys aren't burning up?"  
"Because Swan's only half vampire, she won't die from the sunlight. She just gets bad sun burns. As for me and Tiave, Gvaudoin prepares vampiric sunscreen for us. It allows for us to show up on mirror and camera as well, just for that extra oomph. Because I wasn't expecting to do a lot of running outside today, I just used my parasol."  
"Ah. So, did you all meet here then? This seems to be a hotspot for the occult, after all."  
"Nope. I'm from Roaring Heights, and so is Patrick. Swan and Tiave are from Twinbrook, and Orion and Loren are both from Midnight Hollow. I was thrown out by our parents for my safety and Patrick decided to come along, Swan and Tiave were chased out by the citizens because allegedly they kept sucking blood from them and their pets, which they probably didn't do, and Orion and Loren decided that Midnight Hollow just wasn't cutting it. Our paths all crossed in Moonlight Falls. We've been travelling together ever since then. We plan on moving to Strangetown someday because they might just accept us there."  
"That.. sounds wild. I hope you guys turn out alright in the end. Just hang in there, yeah?"  
"We will, thank you."  
  
They shared a smile for a moment before changing the subject to something much happier. Like school.  


* * *

  
_Palace of Neverending Light, 2:15 P.M._  
  
Luckily, Gavin's tour with Rick was somewhat calmer than everyone else's. He decided to take the boy to the greenhouse in the back, and they were greeted by a boy covered in dirt.  
  
"Hey, Gav! Who's your friend? I'm Patrick." The boy asked, pulling off a dirty glove to shake Rick's hand.  
"My name's Rick, nice meet you." He didn't mind the dirt to tell you the truth.  
"Phoebe says he might be a new spellcaster, so I decided to show him something that's somewhat less likely to kill him. You know, as opposed to spellcasting or Gvaudoin's potions."  
"Somewhat less likely? I don't know about that. Samantha brought in those Cowplants I've been asking for this morning, and I haven't gotten a chance to feed them yet."  
"Can I feed them?" Rick said quickly, "I've always wanted to see one in person."  
"Uh.." Gavin and Patrick shared a look before shrugging. "Sure, I guess." Patrick lead Rick over to a bucket full of meat sitting near the Cowplant, which had a slice of vanilla cake hanging out of its mouth, "Don't touch that cake, by the way. That's how it lures in unsuspecting prey when it's hungry." He said, handing the heavy bucket to Rick, "Just touch a piece in one at a time."  
  
And so Rick reached into the bucket, scrunching his nose up a little. He tossed the meat at the Cowplant with no complaints, and it moo-ed happily as it ate it.  
"Aww, I think it likes you." Gavin smiled.  
"Or it just likes food. What else is there?" Rick asked, wiping his hands on a towel that Patrick had handed him.  
"Mandrakes. Phoebe would probably kill me if I pulled one up right now though."  
"Okay, wait, who's this Phoebe? I've heard her mentioned a few times today."  
"My mom, and the woman who greated you earlier." Gavin said, "She's the one who built this place as a base to train Light magic users to fight the Dark magic users."  
"Aren't Fricorith and Gvaudoin Dark users though?  
"How'd you guess?"  
"Their wands look more.. sinister? Yeah, sinister."  
"Well, yes, they do practice Dark magic. Mom really didn't like that, but they're commited to it. She's convinced it'll possess them like her old friend."  
"But they don't seem like the type to let magic overpower them though."  
  
Before either Gavin or Patrick could respond, a dark-skinned boy wearing a brown turtleneck appeared at the door.  
"Pat! We need some freesia upstairs!"  
"Jeez, not even going to introduce yourself to the new kid? For shame." Patrick said, pulling his other glove back on and grabbing some scissors.  
"I'm Rick." Rick said, waving at the boy.  
"Loren." The turtleneck boy said, nodding, "I'm guessing you're going to start studying here?"  
"Yeah. Is this like a school or something?"  
"Not quite. We really just teach ourselves these things. While there are dorms here, people usually come in from Midnight Hollow or Moonlight Falls. Word of advice though? Stay away from Gvaudoin's lab. She'll either send you to get things, or use you as a guinea pig."  
"...Noted?"  
"Here's your freesia. Tell Gvau to come down and visit me sometime, yeah?"  
"You and I both know that's not gonna happen anytime soon, but I'll tell her." Loren said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.  
  
Patrick sighed in defeat as Gavin pat the boy on the shoulder, "How do you do it, Gav? She never wants to see me, but she'll always talk to you."  
"I wish I could answer that, but I can't.  
Rick cleared his throat, "So.. the plants?"  
Patrick sulked for a moment longer before getting up to guide Rick around the greenhouse. Besides the flytraps getting a little too close so they could eat flies that had flown near the boys, not much else happened.  
  
Well, besides the fact they saw Swan, Tiave, and Violet fly over the roof a few times and came pretty close to crashing into it.


	10. Cordial (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter this time!  
> Next chapter, we see Ginger + Jules and Gvaudoin + Sandra and Jacob.

_Palace of Neverending Light, Friday, 2:30 P.M._  
  
Samantha had seen Tara at the palace with the Tricou boy, and she nearly panicked. She took care to make sure the girl didn't see her, but she quickly made her way to Phoebe's office.  
  
The door was open, so she just walked right in. The High Witch didn't even look surprised to see her.  
"Samantha. I take it the device worked?"  
"Yes, it did. But that's not what I'm here for."  
"Oh? What could you possibly need?"  
"Those teenagers. I _know_ one of them. Tara DeBateau?"  
"Oh, yes, the one already interested in the occult. What about her?"  
"You can't let her become a witch like us, and you can't let her friends do it either."  
"So, that's what this is about. We've been over this, Samantha." The normally peaceful Samantha looked close to exploding, but she managed to keep her voice down in a calm manner.  
"Phoebe. This is essentially sending them to the chopping block. You _know_ what happened to the Tricous, and they weren't even occult. And don't forget what happened when you first contacted Swan and Tiave either. They could've _died_ like the Tricous."  
"They can protect themselves, you know. That's what their magic is for."  
"Do you really think they'd be able to raise a wand against their friends and family so easily?"  
"I've raised one against my friend for ten years, Samantha. If I can do it, so can they."  
"That's different, Phoebe! Frances _has_ magic to defend herself with, those civilians don't! You grew up in a world filled with magic, and they didn't. Did you even _ask_ them if they wanted to practice it?"  
"I was going to do that later, Samantha. I don't understand why they'd ever refuse, however. Now please calm down."  
  
"Oh, this conversation is hopeless!" Samantha threw her hands up before marching out of the office. She began to pace directly outside of the room, clearly in distress.  
Okay, the teens were going to learn how to defend themselves, but Phoebe just didn't _get it._ All of the stories that some of teens had heard about the occult being evil certainly wouldn't make them want to become one. People would demonize them or run them out of town if they found out. It had happened to Swan and Tiave years ago, and it almost happened to Kestrel and Patrick before their parents sent them away.  
What would Armand think about Tara actually practicing witchcraft? Sure, he loved his daughter with all of his heart and bought those things from her.. but he was under the impression that stuff was fake.  
She also knew Tara had always had an interest in Dark magic. Though she was only contacting spirits, there was no doubt she wouldn't mind actually summoning one. It was no secret that Phoebe hated Dark magic too. While she couldn't see Phoebe potentially harming Tara or anyone else for their choice, she'd probably neglect them like the Tricous.  
  
You know, despite Phoebe being the High Witch of Light magic in Belladonna Cove, she wasn't all that good or light. That's the ironic part, Samantha thought.  
She decided that she needed to keep a closer eye on Tara if she decided to practice magic, which she probably would. If something happened to her, she'd never forgive herself and neither would Armand. That meant telling Tara that she was a witch this whole time..  
Well, what's that worst that could happen? Tara wouldn't judge her or demonize her. She wanted to look for the girl straight away, but ultimately decided against it. She was supposed to be bringing in a few more plants for Patrick right now, and she only took a break because the cowplants were being finicky as usual. She got the feeling she was forgetting something or someone.. but who or what was she forgetting?  


* * *

  
_218 Bay View Drive, Friday, 3:00 P.M._  
  
When Kimberly got home from work, she was quite surprised to see Armand DeBateau sitting outside in his car, probably waiting for her sister. After greeting him, she invited him inside and they sat in the dining room to chat for a moment.  
  
"Are you sure you haven't seen her all day, Kimberly?" Armand asked, wringing his hands. According to him, they were supposed to be meeting somewhere and he had come to pick her up. She wasn't home and wouldn't pick up the phone so he waited there for a while.  
"Not since this morning, I'm afraid."  
"Hm.. she's been standing me up a lot lately. Is there something wrong?"  
"As far as I know, there isn't. You'd have to ask her yourself."  
"I see.. well, can you tell her that I came by today? We can try meeting up again tomorrow." Kimberly nodded, escorting Armand to the door.  
"I'll let her know. See you around, Armand." Once he left, Kimberly closed and locked the door with a sigh. She did know why Samantha couldn't make it, but she obviously couldn't tell him the real reason.  
  
She was about to go pour herself a drink, but that was when she heard a distinct crack. She set her cup down, heading into the room they used for spellcasting. Like she thought, Samantha was standing in the center of the room, dusting herself off.  
"And what exactly were you doing?" Kimberly asked, leaning against the doorframe.  
"One of the teens Phoebe took in asked me to bring in some magical plants."  
"Your boyfriend came over, by the way. Said you had a little date today?"  
Samantha gasped, smacking her forehead, "Oh, Watcher! I completely forgot about Armand!"  
"It's cool, it's cool. He said you can just meet up tomorrow." It didn't seem like Samantha heard her though. She was pacing around the room and mumbling like she usually did when she was stressed or upset.  
  
"Oh, I was so caught up with the plants and the new teens.."  
"Wait, new teens?" Samantha finally stopped pacing, approaching Kimberly.  
"Yes. Tara and her friends."  
"Ooh.. that could spell trouble."  
"I know! I told Phoebe, but as usual she never listens!" With that, Samantha marched upstairs. She was probably going to call Armand up to apologize, and then sulk. Kimberly wished she knew how to comfort her, but she didn't. Frances usually raised the dead to carry out her will, but she did enlist the occasional human person like herself sometimes. Kimberly knew it was a bad idea to trust the green-skinned woman, but based on Samantha's words, Phoebe wasn't much better. Enlisting her own children and other teens to fight Frances? Unless they trained hard enough, there's no way they'd win. Frances wouldn't care if they were children, honestly. It's not like Kimberly wanted to fight them either, and especially not someone like Tara or Justin Cleveland. They were nice kids with promising futures.  
  
She hoped that this didn't escalate even further. She considered Frances a friend, and she didn't want to choose between her and her sister. 


	11. Tricou-Newson (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two very different types of people.
> 
> Can you guess who's going to end up together in the end?

_Palace of Neverending Light, Friday, 3:15 P.M._  
  
Ginger knew that this girl wasn't supposed to be at the palace, but she didn't particularly care. She seemed nice enough, so she took her down to where the magical creatures were kept.  
  
"This is amazing!" Jules said, surrounded in baby dragons of varying colors. Ginger watched this interaction, amused. "I guess they like you, huh?"  
"Yeah! Why do you keep them all here anyway?"  
"Mom thinks they'd help in battle against Frances. I usually take care of them like they're pets though."  
"What other creatures are there?"  
"There's the hippocampi, but they usually stick to the ponds because they're essentially glorified seahorses." Ginger said. Jules approached the girl with a purple dragon in her arms, grinning.  
"Can I see one?"  
"Maybe later. Anyway, there's also hippogriffs and manticores, but they're probably sitting on the spires at this time. There's phoenixes, but ours just turned to ash."  
"Wow.. that's a lot of creatures."  
"Yeah, but they're not the _best_ creatures."  
"Oh? What is it then?"  
  
Ginger smirked and pushed Jules back a little before she stood back herself. She whistled and the girls waited for a moment before they heard a horse whinnying coming from somewhere unknown. Jules turned to question her, but paused as a white horse with fluffy looking wings landed nearby.  
"Is that..?"   
"Yup. Meet Aster. If you couldn't tell, she's a pegasus. Aka, the best creature." The dragon in Jules' arms huffed as she put it down to approach the winged beast.  
"She's beautiful.." Jules said as she held out her hand for Aster to smell. Ginger mumbled something under her breath as she approached the girl and the pegasus.  
"She really is, isn't she? She's the first creature that was brought here, and she's quite friendly!"  
"I can tell!" They both ended up laughing at the fact Aster was trying to get closer to the redhead.  
  
"Hey, do you want to ride her?"  
"Wait, we can?"  
"Mhm! Oh, I'll take you to my favorite place!" Ginger grinned, making her way to a nearby shed. She grabbed a saddle for them and adjusted it on Aster's back. "Have you ever ridden a horse before?"  
"I'm afraid not."  
"Then you better sit behind me." Ginger helped Jules climb up onto the pegasus, and then climbed on herself. "Hold on to me tight, okay? I can't have you slipping off!" And so Jules held onto the girl's waist in a sort of hug. She couldn't see or feel it, but Ginger's face became warmer as she guided the pegasus to start flying. Jules hid her face in the girl's back in slight alarm. What if she slipped? What if Aster bucked her off? What if-?  
"Jules, you can look now." What if the view from up here was beautiful? The redhead gaped in awe at the view. They were close to the spires of the castle, and they could see everything from up here. Jules only wished she had a camera.  
  
"What do you think?"  
"Oh, it's beautiful, Ginger! Thank you for bringing me here."  
"Don't sweat it. If you come back, I can teach you how to fly by yourself."  
"I'd love that, actually. That is, if I'm allowed to come back."  
"You can come back!" Ginger blurted. She cleared her throat in embarassment, "I mean.. I'll bring it up to mom. She'll have to let you come back."  
"If you say so. I'm not going to keep my hopes up though."  
Ginger would. She had to see Jules again someday. She's seen many people come and go in the past, but she didn't want this one to slip through her fingers. She couldn't quite explaim why.  


* * *

  
_Palace of Neverending Light, 3:30 P.M._  
  
So maybe Gvaudoin got a little carried away with her alchemy sometimes. Big deal! Sandra and Jacob seemed to be enjoying their time here.  
  
Well, seemed being the keyword here. They were cheerfully running and skipping around the lab because of a potion while Gvaudoin, Orion, and Loren watched and took notes.  
"I haven't seen this much energy ever since Swan and Tiave drank a big gulp cup full of energy drinks." Orion mused, resting his head in his hands.  
"I still think that should've killed them, but whatever." Loren said, looking down at his notepad.  
"Orion, can you grab the blue bottle?" Gvaudoin asked, labelling a yellow potion as 'Vial of Bliss', "That should calm them down."  
"Allow me to do the honors then." Orion said, bottle in hand. He managed to grab the cheerful teens and poured some of the potion into their mouths. The effect was instant, as the teens suddenly slumped onto the floor and burst into tears, "Was this what you wanted?" Orion asked, unamused. Loren on the other hand was scribbling something down on his notepad again.  
"Well, it got them to stop bouncing around like idiots, didn't it? Label that as Melancholy Serum." Gvaudoin said, dumping some ingredients into a cauldron that was stirring itself.  
  
"Don't you feel a _little_ bad for using the new kids as test subjects, Gvau?" Loren asked, glancing at the sobbing teens.  
"Should I?" She asked, going through a few jars, "Hm.. I need to go to Moonlight Falls for some more ingredients.."  
"Yes, you should! Look at them, they're gonna flood the place at this rate!"  
"And that's my problem... how?" She ended up sticking cups underneath their eyes to catch some of their tears for her potion.  
"That's gross, Gvau. You're using them as lab rats. What if these potions kill them?" Orion asked, sitting up on a desk.  
"Relax, boys. I didn't bust out the poisons at all today. I'm all out." Gvaudoin poured the cup of tears into her cauldron, "Besides, you know I never test the poisons on humans and animals. Just some of the plants Patrick gives me."  
"Jeez, don't you ever appreciate his gifts?"  
"Roses, Loren? He knows I'm not at all into him. I don't understand why he's under the assumption I'll change my mind anytime soon."  
"Okay, fair enough. Is that potion done yet? It smells like apple pie."  
  
Gvaudoin stuck her pinky into the cauldron, and tasted the liquid on it, "Hm.. yes. I think so. I'll do the honors this time." Gvaudoin grabbed two clean cups from nearby and spooned some of the green liquid into them. It was hard for the teens to drink through their tears, but they managed it. They finally felt perfectly normal.  
"Whoa, those were some potions!" Sandra said, leaning against Jacob.  
"I'm _never_ doing that again." Jacob groaned, closing his eyes. Orion, Loren, and Gvaudoin didn't seem to care about their complaints. Gvaudoin poured some of the potion into a flask, and slid it to Loren, "Label it Pacifying Potion."   
"So.. do you have any more for us to try?" Sandra asked, helping Jacob up.  
"I'm afraid not. I need to go out and buy some more stuff tomorrow?"  
"Oh? Where are you going?"  
"Moonlight Falls. You might not li--"  
"I want to go." Jacob and Gvaudoin stared at Sandra like she was crazy.  
"Excuse me?"  
"I want to go to Moonlight Falls with you." Gvaudoin prepared to object, but Orion stopped her.  
  
"Wait. We should let her and her friends come along for the ride. They're probably going to become witches and warlocks like us, so they might as well see where we buy our goods."  
"He raises a good point, you know." Loren said, putting away his notepad, "They'll end up going there eventually, whether it's with us or with Miss Phoebe."  
"...Fine, they can come. As long as they stick with us, or with each other."  
"What is this, some sort of field trip?" Jacob asked.  
"Yes, yes it is. You may want to bring some money too, actually. You know, for lunch and whatever you need for your studying."  
"Oh my gosh, this literally is a field trip!" Sandra cheered.  
"Woo, fun. Now, Orion. Could you take them back to the entrance for me? Loren and I need to clean up." Gvaudoin said, clearing away some of the empty bottles. Orion nodded, and left with Jacob and Sandra.  
  
"So, Moonlight Falls?"  
"Yeah. It's got the best deals, and I'm more used to it."  
"Ah. Are you telling Miss Phoebe about this?"  
"Why should I? It's not like we're headed across the globe." Gvaudoin wiped her wand off and stuck it back in her bun where it usually was, "You can leave now if you want. I'm gonna look for Fricorith and that Tara chick because Pheebs is probably gonna blow a fuse." Without giving Loren a chance to say goodbye, Gvaudoin turned into a ghost and exitted through a wall, leaving Loren to scratch his head and lock up for her.


	12. Roth (3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the cycle starts again.
> 
> I guess Xander is Alexander with hints of Desdemona Capp thrown in for good measure now?

_208 Welsh Lane, Saturday, 1:00 P.M._  
  
Stella Roth was not stupid. She knew when her husband was distracted by something. This something was a woman by the name of Diana Caldo.  
  
The blonde woman had moved into the small town that week, and Morty seemed to be hooked on her already. Stella didn't like that. Morty was allowed to have female friends, but Diana was blatantly flirting with him and he was reciprocating it. She asked him about it, but he simply brushed her off. Their marriage wasn't doing so well in the first place, but this might just be the tipping point. Stella needed to leave. They had been in so love and so close since high school and college, but now it became a chore just talking to each other. Riverblossom was supposed to help repair the family and while Sandra and Xander loved it here, Stella wasn't a fan.  
Morty had taken Xander and his friends down to Belladonna Cove for the day for their little shop while Sandra headed there to visit some friends. That left the woman to wander around Riverblossom by herself. She could see Leod McGreggor gardening while Cleo Shikibu attempted to chat him up to almost no avail. Betty Goldstein and Catherine Viejo seemed to be gossiping about this interaction or something else as they usually did.  
  
She noticed someone else though. He was dressed in all black, wore shades, and was leaning against a black car. She's seen that exact car driving around once before, and now she was curious.  
"Who are you?" Stella asked, folding her arms. The man's head whipped towards her in surprise.  
"That's not important. Have you seen a woman named Diana Caldo around here?"  
"Maybe I have. Why do you want to know?"  
"I have reasons to believe that she's connected to or is Dina Caliente."  
"Oh? I can see it, honestly. She moved in here around the same time that Dina Caliente disappeared."  
"Yes, that's what my source said. There's also the fact that her name is just Dina's name with an extra 'A'."  
"Hm.. do you mind if I help you out a bit?"  
"What? Why?"  
Why did Stella want to help this man? Well, there was the fact that if Diana truly was Dina, that woman was a criminal who nearly destroyed the Goths with the Alto family. Even if she wasn't in love with Morty anymore, she didn't want to see him hurt or in trouble.  
  
"Diana is flirting with my husband. If he were to leave me for her, he might not survive."  
"You sound pretty casual for someone who's husband is cheating on them."  
"Ha. It's not like we're in love anymore, and it's not like I ever loved him in the first place." Stella laughed dryly, "I plan on getting a divorce soon anyway. Before you say this is dangerous, I do know how to defend myself quite well." The man looked conflicted for a moment, but then he sighed and nodded.  
"Fine, you can help me out. You would know her best of all since she is your neighbor."  
"Correct. Now then, my name is Stella Roth."  
"I'm John Mole."  
  
This could be the start of a beautiful partnership someday, especially when Stella decided to leave.  


* * *

  
_Belladonna Cove, 1:15 P.M._  
  
Xander was right. Their jars and other crafts were selling like hotcakes in Belladonna Cove, and they were loving it! Too bad Morty was too focused on Diana, who had decided to tag along, to care about his son's achievement.  
  
"Looks like we can buy those bikes now, boys!" Virginia grinned, counting out change to give people.  
"Yep! It's like we're actual shopkeepers. I think we should start selling other things too while the iron's still hot." Cleve said, bagging some of the items that people purchased.  
"Oh really?" Xander said, showing off some products to a few of the neighborhood kids, "What else do you suggest we sell then?"  
"Food. People get hungry while they shop, don't they? That's why there's food courts and restaurants in the mall."  
"That's brilliant, Cleve! Ten outta ten!" Virginia nodded, "I could ask my dad to help us bake some stuff, and we can sell that along with our crafts. The smell can help attract people."  
"Hm.. you know what?" Xander said, stroking an imaginary beard, "I like those ideas. I like them a lot. Let's test it out in Desiderata tomorrow."  
  
The kids all agreed with this, and eventually Morty came up to them, "Xander, Diana and I are going to make a quick run to the coffee shop. Will you and your friends be alright?"  
"Of course, dad. Bring us back some cookies, yeah? Shopkeeping is busy and hungry work." Morty nodded, making his way back to Diana. The kids went back to their shop as the last few people for today came by.  
"Well, I think we made good progress." Cleve said, counting out their cash.  
"Yeah, I agre-- _whoa._ " Xander smacked Cleve in the arm to get his attention, causing the boy to say 'ow' and rub his arm, "What, Xander? That freakin' hurt."  
"Look." Xander pointed to one of the tables of items where a girl in a green school uniform was standing and inspecting one of the jars.  
"What about her? She's just a normal girl."  
" _Just a normal girl, Cleveland?_ " Xander stared at the boy, clearly offended on the girl's behalf, "She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my entire life!"  
"That's what you said about Solveig Lawson and Lila Young." Virginia pointed out, starting to pack up their stuff. Xander brushed them off with a wave of his hand.  
  
"Minor details, guys. I'm gonna go talk to her." Xander ignored Virginia and Cleve's teasing and laughing as he sauntered over to the mystery girl. Once he deemed himself close enough, he casually draped his arm on the table and lowered his sunglasses a little, " _Hey._ "  
"Hello." The girl said, green and orange galaxy jars in hand as she looked them over a few times.  
"You come here often?"  
"I live here, so yes."  
"I see, I see.. has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?"  
"My parents do." She replied, walking over to Cleve and Virginia with her jars.  
"Well, I think you're beautiful Miss...?"  
"Thank you. My name is Sofia Baldwin." She said, handing the jars to Virginia. Once they were paid for, Cleve bagged them up and handed it back to her.  
"Xander Roth. Think we can meet again, Sofia?"  
"I dunno. Will you be here tomorrow?"  
"I'm afraid not. You could always meet us in Desiderata Valley though...?" He asked hopefully, "This team could use another player."  
"Maybe. I'll think about it." The girl smiled before walking away.  
  
"Earth to Casanova. Come in, Casanova." Virginia said, waving her hand in Xander's face.  
"Huh? Oh, sorry! What were you saying?" Xander said, helping his friends pack their stuff up.  
"Did you really offer a job with us to someone we literally just met?" Cleve asked, amused.  
"What, you got a problem with it?" Xander asked defensively.  
"No, no, just curious."  
Xander fell silent after that. He was silent when his father and Diana came back with their treats, and he was silent when he noticed the smudge of Diana's shade of lipstick on his father's face. He'd most certainly tell his mother when he saw her later, but for now he just wanted to get lost in his thoughts about the business and Sofia Baldwin. Oh, and the fact that Sandra was here and didn't even think to bring her friends along to shop.


	13. DeBateau (3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tara learns some magic from Fricorith, and we see a little of Armand and a few of his thoughts.

_Cornerstone Condominiums, Saturday, 1:50 P.M._  
  
Tara's dream was finally coming true. She would be an actual witch casting actual magic. While she knew what could happen if normal people found out about her, she promised to be careful.  
  
She sat on her bed thumbing through a few tomes that Phoebe had given her and a few that Fricorith snuck out of the library and waved her wand so that she could make reagents. Sandra, Jacob, and Justin all had understandable doubts about all of this and ended up declining the offer to practice sorcery, but Tara, Violet, Rick, and even Jules were ready to start their magical journey. It was easier said than done, however. Trying to make reagents in the cauldron that Gvaudoin gave everyone who accepted training should've been simple, but she couldn't quite get them to manifest.  
"You're going to poke your eye out, girly." She heard a familiar voice taunt.  
"Jeez, Fricorith. Not even a greeting after coming into my room without permission?" The blond ghost shrugged, allowing himself to turn human again.  
"Hey, I told you I'd come over sometime today didn't I?"  
"And you couldn't do it at night?"  
"And risk being heard by your sleeping dad? No thank you."  
"Fair enough. How do you know he isn't here right now though?"  
"He'd probably be asking who you're talking to right about now. Plus, I saw him leaving as I flew over here."  
"Ah. You know, if you can teleport or use portals or whatever, why didn't you just do that?"  
"Flying is just way more fun, y'know?"  
"I wish I knew the feeling." She shifted as Fricorith came over to sit next to her on the bed, "What did you want to show me anyway?"  
  
"First, I wanna know if you're into Light magic or Dark magic."  
"I think knowing both would be pretty beneficial, buuut.. I'm kinda more interested in Dark magic."  
"A girl after my own heart! Want me to show you how to correctly make reagents? You weren't doing the hand movements right earlier. I could also teach you a few Dark spells behind Pheeb's back."  
"You'd do all that for me? I'd love that! We probably shouldn't do that stuff in my room though, huh? We're more likely to break something." She said, sliding off her bed and grabbing her things.  
"You're right. Where do you want to start studying then?" Fricorith asked, pulling his wand from his pocket.  
"By the lake where we first met. I think it's kinda poetic in a way, y'know? I meet a new friend, and that new friend shows me new things."  
"Cheesy. Are you going soft on me, girly?" The blond asked, opening up a portal and stepping through it. Tara huffed, clutching her things tighter as she followed behind him.  
"I think it's sweet! Why do you call me girly anyway? You know my name is Tara."  
"I'm well aware of that. Girly just suits you better for some reason." When they both stepped out on the other of the portal, Fricorith pat Tara on the head and sat down.  
"I'm not a dog, ghost-boy." Tara said, sitting down next to him. He raised a brow as she set her cauldron and tomes up in front of them.  
"Ghost-boy? Jeez, if you wanna give me a nickname, at least make it special."  
  
"How does Cory sound then?" He made a coughing sound.  
"Cory? I mean.. I don't really care if you call me that. Do as you please. Just.. keep it private, yeah? I have a reputation to uphold."  
"Okay, _Cory._ Only if you give me a new nickname."  
"...I'll think about it. Anyway. The reagents. Go put water in the cauldron while I start a small fire." Tara did as she was told. Fricorith waved his wand, causing sticks and stones from nearby to fly over and assemble themselves into a campfire. To top it off, he casted Inflammo to light it. When Tara came back and Fricorith stood up, Tara placed the nearly full cauldron over the flames and it began to float.  
"Whoa..." Tara said, staring as the flames began to glow blue.  
"Huh. I guess Gvau charmed the cauldrons to float. Anyway, when it starts smoking that's when the real magic starts."  
  
Not too long after he said this, the pot began to steam. Fricorith moved next to Tara, and grabbed the arm that her wand was in, "Now, let me show you the _right_ hand and arm motions to use."  


* * *

  
_Center Drip Coffee Shop, 2:00 P.M._  
  
Armand set the galaxy jar he had bought for Tara earlier in the backseat and stepped out of the parked car. He walked to the other side, and opened up the passenger door for Samantha Cordial.  
  
"Thank you." She smiled, grabbing her bag and climbing out.  
"Of course." Once she had everything, he closed and locked the door before offering his arm and escorting her in. Center Drip wasn't exactly what he had in mind for a date, but Samantha really liked the place and didn't really feel like leaving town today so he really didn't mind indulging her.  
"I'm glad that we were finally able to meet up for once. It seems like we're both always busy." Armand said, pulling out a seat for Samantha. When she was settled, he pushed the chair in and sat down across from her.  
"I know, right? It's crazy." Samantha laughed.  
"So, wasn't there something you needed to talk about?"  
"Yes." Samantha suddenly became serious, "It's about Tara."  
Armand gulped. Was his daughter in trouble or something? He'd be prepared to defend her if needed. Sensing his distress, Samantha softened a little, "It's nothing bad, don't worry. I was wondering if Tara could stay over for a few days?"  
"How come?"  
"Just wanted to have a little girl time, you know? If we do plan on getting married in the future, I want her to like me."  
"She already adores both you and Kimberly, Samantha. I'm not against the idea of her staying over, however. I'll ask her when I see her later today." Armand said, putting his hand on hers, "And for the record, I do plan on marrying you someday if you'll have me. I'd still like to give you a proper proposal later on."  
  
"I'd love that more than anything." Samantha's smile came back. "I'll be looking forward to you calling later." After that small interaction, Armand got up to order food for himself and Samantha. When he came back with the food and they began to eat, Samantha asked him a strange question.  
"Armand.. I was wondering something." When he looked at her, she whispered her question. "How do you feel about the occult? Witches, vampires, and lycans and the like."  
"I don't mind them, honestly." Armand answered truthfully. "They may be different, but they're still people. And I'm quite sure that witches are just normal people who learned how to cast magic. I see no reason to hate them. Why do you ask?"  
Samantha looked relieved with his answer, "I'll have to tell you later, in private."  
Based on that question and answer, Armand assumed she was an occult. She obviously wasn't a fairy, and she wasn't sickly pale and cold and burning in the sunlight so she wasn't a vampire, she never complained about the full moon so she wasn't a lycan.. she had to be a witch if it were true. He wouldn't jump to conclusions before she told him, but it'd certainly explain some of the weird things at her house or explain how she was always on time for their dates whenever he didn't pick her up himself.  
  
You know, even if Samantha was an occult, he'd love her all the same. She was still the same Samantha Cordial he's known and loved for years. Everyone else may have disliked the vampires for draining their blood sometimes, or werewolves for their constant howling, or fairies for their constant mischief, but Armand couldn't bring himself to feel that way.  
He couldn't even bring himself to dislike the witches that constantly fought and claimed many lives in their ongoing clashes. Even if he disagreed with it, they must've had good reason to fight for ten long years. Maybe.  
He turned his attention back to Samantha, who had decided to tell him about Kimberly acting weird as well. Maybe she was a witch too? He'd wait for them both to come out and say it themselves first.


	14. Jocque-Contrary (3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet and Justin hang out a little, and there's three guest appearances in Rick's part!

_Desiderata Valley, Saturday, 2:20 P.M._  
  
Surprisingly, Rick didn't come over to hang out with Violet today. Justin came by earlier instead, so she took him to the forest so she could practice her magic.  
  
"Seriously, Justin! This magic business is so much fun!" Violet cheered, sitting on the floating broomstick Tiave and Swan gave her before she left.  
"It looks fun, but I probably shouldn't practice magic myself. I sneak out to meet up with you guys, but sneaking out to practice magic? I'd get caught on the second day."  
"Nuh-uh! You'd have us to vouch for you." Violet said, flying down to Justin. She held out her hand for him to take.  
"No offense, Violet, but I think my mom would hate you guys." Justin said, grabbing her hand and getting up.  
"But do _you_ hate us?" She asked, patting the broom behind her. He climbed on, holding onto her waist. Once he was secure, Violet kicked off the ground and began to fly.  
"Of course not. I can be myself around you guys." He said as they flew above the trees. He was pretty scared of the height and speeds they were going at the moment, but he didn't want to show fear in front of Violet.  
  
"That's a relief. I'm glad you're comfortable with us. I remember when you were too shy to speak to me."  
"That was only a few days ago. I thought you were too cool for me."  
"Me? Cool? You flatter me too much! I'm just a normal teenager just like you."  
"A normal teenager who dominated the soccer field when we met up here."  
"It just takes a lot of practice! And sporty parents, I guess."  
"My mom's not sporty, but she did make me join the military so there's that."  
"Do you even like the military?" She asked, landing on one of the nearby hills. They dismounted and ended up sitting next to each other to speak.  
"Not really. While I do like sports, the military just isn't for me. She only signed me up because she thought Tara was distracting me too much."  
"Was she?"  
"Maybe a little. I liked her for a while after she started tutoring me, but I'm over that now. At the moment, my mom's the one distracting me."  
"Is it because she's really strict?"  
"Yeah. I know that she wants to see me succeed, but I wish she'd ease up on me a little. I've still got three years to be a teen."  
  
Violet put a sympathetic hand on the boy's shoulder, "You should stand up to her if that's really bothering you."  
"What? No way, she'd skin me alive!" Justin looked at his friend, horrified.  
"You can't change things if you don't at least try, you know."  
"Yeah, but.."  
"We can help you too, you know. I'm sure Tara would be willing, and I'm more than happy to help you out." She smiled at him, grabbing his hand. He looked down at their hands for a moment, brow furrowed. Finally, he looked back up at her and nodded.  
"Thank you, Violet. I'd.. appreciate it." She smiled, pulling him into a quick hug.  
  
"So, Kestrel..."  
"What about her?" Justin asked, voice going higher.  
"I noticed you two getting along pretty well. Do you like her?" She nudged the boy, grinning.  
"No! I mean-- she's nice, but.."   
"Relax, I'm just kidding." Violet didn't know why, but she felt relieved to hear him say that. Anyway.. "Hey, can you take off your sweater for a second?" She asked, taking off her jacket.  
"Yeah, why?" He did as he was told.  
"Oh.. just for this!" She pushed him down the hill before rolling down with him. Was this childish? Definitely. Did either of them care? Not really. It felt nice to just be kids.  


* * *

  
_1026 West Dreaming Drive, 2:35 P.M._  
  
Rick wanted to see Violet and practice his magic with her, but he ultimately decided against it. His parents had made him angry, and he really didn't want to take it out on her.  
  
He had calmed down since then, however. Violet might be busy by now, so instead he made his way over to his computer and opened up his video chatting app. It'd be three in the afternoon for her right now, and she'd probably be home, so he clicked on her username and waited. It didn't take long for her to respond.  
 _"Rick, hey! What's up?"_  
"Hey, Miranda. Not much, my parents got on my nerves today."  
 _"You too, huh? My mom and dad are being super protective all of a sudden! I'm surprised, considering Mom called me and Hermia useless the day they found out Juliette was gone."_  
"Well, you almost had bullets put through you and you nearly blew up in a science lab."  
 _"But I didn't, now did I? I had to survive to see you again!"_  
"I still can't believe you confessed to me the day before all of this happened."  
 _"Neither can I, but I don't regret it. You know, I've become somewhat of a celebrity."_  
"I don't doubt it. I mean, you guys found Bella Goth in two or three weeks! That's impressive."  
 _"You know, I guess it is. It brought more people to Veronaville in hopes of seeing me, Hermia, and Juliette."_  
"Yeah? You have paparazzi trailing you?"  
 _"Yep. Me and the other people who found them. We've become super popular at school too, apparently. Our classmates see us around and try befriending us or pretending to be our friends. Anyway, have you seen a Romeo Monty and Meadow Thayer there at all?"_  
"Mhm. They were living in the local apartments, but they ended up moving over to 111 East Pleasure Path and they usually keep to themselves. Why do you ask?"  
 _"Just wondering. I think you should chat with them once in a while though. They're around our age, and they probably feel a bit weird knowing that they successfully got away."_  
"You got it. I'll go over later. How do their families feel about this anyway?"  
 _"Surprisingly, Romeo's grandpa doesn't really care about this. At least he and Meadow's family never spoke about it. Anyway, I have to go. Lilith and her sister are here to pick me up for a day in the city."_  
"Alright, see you later babe."  
 _"Babe?"_  
"Yeah. Weren't you the one who kept asking for a pet name?"  
 _"...I was. I'll find one for you later in that case."_ With that, Miranda hung up and Rick moved away from his computer.  
  
It was nice to speak to Miranda again, but now he needed to actually get out of the house like her. Romeo Monty and Meadow Thayer, huh? They were in the grade above him, and they were a year or two apart in age. Were they rich enough to actually get away with running away? Clearly they weren't important enough for their families to drag them right back to SimCity. It was almost inspirational in a way.  
He got up from his chair, walking to the living room. His parents had left after their fight with him, and they were still gone. He was pretty stoked about that, not gonna lie. He grabbed a bag a chips before pulling on his shoes and leaving the house. Desiderata was quiet as usual, probably because everyone was buying a few crafts from those little kids from Riverblossom Hills at the moment. Once he arrived at his destination, he knocked on the door.   
  
A boy with curly black hair and a face and outfit covered in flour answered the door as he tried wiping off the powder with an apron, "Rick! What brings you to our humble abode?"  
"Hey, Romeo. Is Meadow here?" Rick asked as Romeo let him into the house and led him into the living room.  
"Yeah, she's in the kitchen. She did this--" Romeo gestured to the flour, "--to me while we were cooking."  
"That's one way to play with your food."  
"Who was at the door, Rom?" A girl with blonde hair and tan skin asked, stepping out of the kitchen. Just like Romeo, she was covered in flour. "Oh, hey Rick! Tell the truth, did Mr. Mole send you?"  
"Nope. Haven't seen him all day, actually. Miranda's the one who sent me over here."  
"Huh. Not Mercutio or my grandfather?" Romeo asked, successfully getting all of the flour out of his face.  
"I don't know either of them them that well, but Miranda did mention that your grandfather isn't raising a fuss about it."  
"Well, at least we don't have to worry about General Grunt coming here to track us down and drag us back."  
"To be fair, the only Montys that know where we went are your aunt and Mercutio." Meadow pointed out. "Anyway, Rick. Would you like to stay over for dinner?"  
"Dinner at three in the afternoon?"  
The blonde girl shrugged, "It's too late for lunch, and this meal's bigger than a snack too. Might as well call it dinner."  
"You know what? Sure, I'll join you guys. Better than enduring dinner with my folks."  
"Great! Sit and make yourself at home then. Meadow and I should finish up." Romeo said, walking back into the kitchen.  
"Are you sure you guys don't need help?"  
"Nope! We've got it under control, don't worry. Thank you for the offer though!" Meadow smiled before following Romeo.  
  
You know, despite them not being that much older than Rick, Romeo and Meadow seemed to have everything under control. Hanging with them was just what he needed right now. He felt at ease, and lunch-dinner went without a hitch. He let them do most of the talking, but he pitched in a few times too, of course.  
When it was over and he left, they invited him to join them if he could tomorrow as well. Of course, he accepted this invite. Even though they weren't that much older than Rick and weren't parents at all, they were better parents than his own.


	15. Cordial (3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Samantha tells Armand the truth, and a brawl is surely brewing..

_218 Bay View Drive, Saturday, 3:25 P.M._  
  
Instead of going straight home, Armand decided to hang out with Samantha for a while longer at her house. Kimberly wasn't home right now, so they could do whatever they wanted.  
  
"So, there was something you needed to tell me." Armand said, grabbing Samantha's hand.  
"I... yes. You may want to sit down for this first." Samantha said, leading the blond man to the couch. When they sat down, she turned to face him and sighed, "So, do you remember how I asked about your opinion on the occult earlier?"  
"Yes, is this-?"  
"I'm a witch, Armand. Kimberly is too." She might as well get this over with. He didn't seem angry or upset with her, just.. relieved?  
"I had a feeling when you brought it up earlier. It would explain a few things in your house, and why you've been gone for long periods of time in the past."  
Samantha was thrown off a bit by this confession, but she quickly regained her composure. "So.. how do you feel about it?"  
"I don't care, Samantha. I loved you before I found out, and I'll continue to do so for as long as you'll have me."  
"Armand.. thank you. I know that you're not the type of man to hate someone for something like this, but I couldn't help but worry just a little bit." She said, pulling the man into a hug. They held each other for a while, and pulled away.   
  
"Armand, there's something else I have to ask."  
"What is it?"  
"How would you feel about Tara becoming a witch?" Armand didn't answer right away, but that didn't really worry her. It was fine if Tara wasn't allowed to practice witchcraft with them, but Phoebe might not be too thrilled about it considering that not all of the teens she wanted agreed to doing so.  
"I suppose I wouldn't mind. She's always been into that type of stuff, and now that I know you're a witch, I know you can help her grow and keep her safe."  
"Of course! I care for her like she's my own daughter. I can't promise that she won't get hurt at all, but I can promise that I'll try and make sure she doesn't get hurt too often."  
"Thank you, Samantha. I'll let her know about this when I see her tonight."  
"I need to talk to you both about magic and witches tonight anyway. Could you bring her by even if she doesn't want to stay over?"  
"Yes, of course. The more information about what she's getting into, the better." He looked at his watch for a quick second before getting up, "As lovely as this chat was, I don't want to overstay my welcome."  
  
Samantha stood up as well, pulling the man into a quick hug again, "See you again tomorrow if our schedules allow it?"  
"I'd love that. Goodbye." He smiled before leaving. Samantha locked the door behind him before moving into her and her sister's witchcraft practicing room. That chat went way better than she expected, especially considering Armand somehow already knew about her little secret. Tara would be able to practice witchcraft with her and the other teens that joined them and the teens that were already practicing long before them. She noticed that Tara seemed to be getting along very well with Fricorith Tricou, and she felt somewhat conflicted. On one hand, he and Gvaudoin would be able to satisfy her curiosity about the Dark. On the other, Phoebe would be pretty upset if she found out about that little fact.  
Samantha hated being afraid of her friend, but there wasn't much she could do. Phoebe constantly spoke over her and disregarded her feelings, but on the other hand she usually told Samantha and a few others about whatever plan she had to take down Frances.  
  
Maybe it was time to find a better friend, but not until Frances was gone. She needed to see this whole thing through.  


* * *

  
_Fortress of Eternal Darkness, 3:40 P.M._  
  
Kimberly watched as Frances paced around the room, clearly angry. Phoebe had managed to recruit a few more people, and now Frances needed a plan.  
  
"How does she do it? Those teens don't know what they're getting into!" The green woman grumbled.  
"Well, young people do like doing things they're not supposed to. Like magic."  
"Hm.. you have a point. What if those teens were into Dark magic too?"  
"It's plausible. Sammy told me Phoebe doesn't like people bringing up the Dark. Says she ignores the Tricou teens too."  
"Oh, I see... perhaps they'd be willing to join our side? We wouldn't ignore them."  
"Negative. The girl, Gvaudoin, is too attached to Phoebe's son Gavin. Her cousin usually goes where she goes, and he's been distracted by someone lately too."  
"Tara DeBateau, correct? I've seen them practicing Dark magic by that lake you told me about today."  
"The one and only."  
"Hm.. if I were to get Gavin to our side somehow, could we get those other three to defect as well?"  
"I highly doubt that. Gavin would never leave his family behind."  
"You underestimate my abilities to manipulate and persuade." The woman smiled dryly.  
  
Funny she should bring up manipulation. It felt like Frances was manipulating her whenever she was being sweet only to ask her for a favor every single time. Of course, Frances always denied these accusations. It was also quite suspicious that France always asked to take her memories of what they spoke about that day. It was supposed to be for their own safety so that Phoebe couldn't force the information out of her, but Kimberly quickly realized that this wasn't the case for everyone else. Not the two grand vampires that occasionally worked with them, and none of the other spellcasters either.  
"Kimberly. You look distracted. Tell me what's wrong."  
"Hm.. nothing. I just don't know exactly how we're to find more allies. No one really trusts magic anymore."  
"Is that it? Well, I may have a solution." Frances had some sort of ugly grin or grimace on her face.  
"You do? Does it have something to do with the teens?"  
"No, no.. something far better. This coming Monday, we shall attack first. We cannot let the new spellcasters get the chance to get strong enough to fight."  
"I... okay. I suppose we could do that.." Truth be told, Kimberly really didn't want to see those teens hurt. She feared how Frances would react to that, however. The woman was already terrifying when she was angry.  
"Good. Now, our time is up. I have somewhere to be, and it doesn't concern you." Like many times in the past, the green skinned woman pressed her wand to Kimberly's forehead and extracted her memories, storing them in a small flask. Once this was done, Frances nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
  
This time was going to be different. Frances expected her to leave straight away as she always did, but instead Kimberly grabbed the bottle on the desk, opened it, and returned her memories to herself by drinking it. She didn't know when Frances would be back, so she quickly pulled out her phone and texted her sister. She had to warn her about the attack before anyone got hurt, and because Frances assumed that her memories would still be gone and she wouldn't get the time to tell Samantha or Phoebe, the blame would be shifted to someone else. Maybe it was wrong to pin this on someone else, but that didn't matter right now.  
Once she was done with the text, Kimberly put her phone away and pulled out her wand to extract her memories and put them back into the bottle. She had watched the woman do the incantation almost a hundred times, so it wasn't that difficult to perform it on herself. Once this was done, she stored the bottle away and exited the room only to bump into Arcadia Andrews, one of the Grand Vampires.  
  
"Why, if it isn't Frances' little lapdog." The brunette woman mocked, pointing.  
"Get out of my face, Arcadia." Kimberly replied, trying to push her out of the way.  
"Aww, why are you in such a hurry? Don't you want to tell me what Frances told you in there?"  
"I can't remember."  
"That's a lie. She just told you, and no one can be that forgetful."  
"Well, I am. She'll tell us all later anyway, so no point in heckling me." Kimberly said, successfully getting away from the woman. They really didn't like each other, considering Arcadia was as bitchy as they came. She reminded Kimberly of some of the various girls in school who were snobby and thought that they were better than everyone else. She supposed that vampires could be considered better, but only when compared to humans.  
The other Grand Vampire, Cooper Baena, was just as sadistic as Arcadia but he didn't show that side as often. He preferred to just sit back and observe everything around him. While Kimberly and Cooper never really fought with each other, they disliked each other too. In fact, the only things he genuinely liked were wine, Arcadia, and turning people into vampires.  
As stereotypical as it sounded, Kimberly was afraid of them sucking her dry despite her status as 'Frances' Lapdog'. They were constantly commenting on how good her blood smelled, or they were constantly fixated on her neck whenever they spoke.. She really hated that. Despite her protests, they always laughed at her cowardice.  
  
Vampires aside, she really needed to get home before Samantha. That, or she'd just remt a hotel room. Frances would send for her later or tomorrow by either vampire or crow, and Kimberly really needed to rest because of her throbbing headache. Ugh.. she really needed to stop letting Frances wipe her mind. That, or she needed to stop trying to think of memories that didn't exist..


	16. Tricou-Newson (3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talk about mood whiplash.

_Midnight Hollow, Saturday, 4:08 P.M_  
  
Gavin, Sandra, Jacob, and Patrick all watched Gvaudoin as she haggled with the owner of the consignment store they gathered at. Gvaudoin actually managed to get all of her stuff for free, and she actually smirked as she left with the group trailing behind her.  
  
"How do you do it?" Sandra asked incredulously, "Whenever I try it for makeup or motorbike parts, it never works!"  
"It's amazing, isn't it?" Patrick said dreamily, carrying Gvaudoin's things.  
"It's all about negotiations." Gvaudoin said, walking alongside Gavin. "I give them what they want, and they give me what I want."  
"What exactly did you give them?" Jacob asked.  
"I said that I'd purchase from this place only for a month, and recommend it to everyone in the palace." The girl checked her nails, leading them to the local diner, "Table for five please." She told the hostess. They were quickly seated at a booth because business was pretty slow at the moment. Sandra and Jacob had one side to themselves, while Gvaudoin sat between Gavin and Patrick.  
"Do you actually intend on doing those things you promised? Everyone knows how easily bored you get." Gavin said, looking over the menu a few times.  
"Of course. No matter how bored I get of something, I always keep my promises."  
  
"Hello there, I'm your server for today. Do you want to start with some drinks?" A man with a butcher knife headband asked, taking out a notepad.  
"Rock candy mocktail. Could you possibly bring a Saucy Spider over as an appetizer as well?" Gvaudoin asked, setting her menu down.  
"This blood orange martini looks promising." Sandra said, resting her head in her hands.  
"Witch's brew punch, please!" Gavin said.  
"I'll have a gummy worm punch." Jacob said.  
"And I'll have the magic potion punch!" Patrick grinned. The server nodded, writing their orders down before taking them to the kitchen.  
"So, what's with all the horror themed menu items?" Jacob asked, looking through the food options.  
"While Moonlight Falls has more occults in the population, Midnight Hollow embraces the halloween and horror themed aesthetic more. That's why this place looks like a horror movie set, and why all the food and drinks are named like this." Patrick explained.  
"I kinda like it!" Sandra grinned, "Way more interesting than Riverblossom Hills. Anyway, how come Fricorith didn't join us? This looks like something right up his alley."  
"That girl. Terra or something like that. He told me he wanted to teach her about the Dark today."  
"Tara's her name. He's always flirting with with her, y'know?" Gavin said.  
  
"I don't think he means anything by it. He's always teasing people like that." Gvaudoin waved him off as their server came back with their drinks and appetizer, "We're ready to order. I'll have the Vampire Steak."  
"Me and Sandra are both having the Eyeball Pasta." Jacob said, looking down at his phone.  
"Graveyard Chicken Enchilada Dip for me, please." Gavin said.  
"And I'll have the Jack-o'-Lantern Tamale Bake. No black olives." Gavin said. Their server nodded like last time, and sent their order back to the kitchen.  
"Oh look, Jake! A jukebox! We should dance." Before Jacob could agree or disagree, Sandra was already dragging him off. Patrick ended up joining them too.  
"Won't you dance too, Gvau?" Gavin asked.  
"No. Someone should stay to wait for our food, but you can go if you want." Gvaudoin said, breaking off one of the bread spider's legs and dipping it into the marinara sauce in its back.  
"Nah. I'd much rather keep you company."  
"Oh really? And why is that?"  
  
The boy shrugged, smiling, "I just find you more interesting than dancing, I guess."  
"Hm. I suppose you're more interesting than dancing too." Gvaudoin said, observing the dancing teens and other patrons, "I was sure that Patrick was going to ask me to dance."  
"Did you want him to or something?"  
"No. I know that he likes me, but I don't feel the same way. I do wish he'd leave me be."  
"Haven't you told him to stop?"  
"Yes. And he keeps sending me roses, so I simply use them for my experiments. And before you say I'm being mean, I don't care. I didn't ask him to do this for me."  
"It's cool, it's cool. He can be pretty clingy sometimes, I've noticed. If you've already tried being nice, then maybe being mean will help."  
"You see, Gav? This is why I like you so much."  
  
The boy coughed and took a sip of his drink. Gvaudoin smirked at his reaction, clearly getting an idea. Maybe it was wrong to use him, but she did like him genuinely.  
Like she'd ever admit that out loud right now.  


* * *

  
_Palace of Neverending Light, 4:45 P.M._  
  
Kestrel, Tiave, and Jules all watched from below the willow trees as Swan and Ginger raced on their broom and pegasus, respectively. It all started when Swan claimed that her broom was faster than Ginger's pegasus, so Ginger declared that they'd race and figure it out once and for all. At the moment, they were neck and neck.  
  
"So, Jules! I'm glad you decided to join us with the whole magic thing." Kestrel said happily.  
"Yeah, that was pretty rad of you." Tiave said, resting his back against the willow.  
"Thanks for the welcome. I'm pretty excited to start working on spells and working with the animals!"  
"Just the animals?" Kestrel asked, nudging the redhead.  
"And Ginger too. She's pretty cool, actually!"  
"I know, right? That's one bodacious dudette." Tiave said.  
"Tiave, I've been meaning to ask you about something. Why do you talk like some sort of 90s surfer? You don't exactly look the part." Jules asked, staring at the boy.  
"I just think it sounds cool, y'know? It's like Kestrel's whole thing with the 20s, or Loren's thing with the 60s."  
"So, were you guys born in those decades or...?"  
"Oh, heavens no! We're not that old!" Kestrel laughed good naturedly. "Roaring Heights had a very art deco style, which I loved too much to let go. Tiave and Swan were always into movies from the 80s and 90s, because that was what they had in Twinbrook due to it being so behind the times. As for Loren.. you'd have to ask him yourself."  
  
Jules nodded in understanding as Ginger and Swan finally came back from their race.  
"We tied." Ginger said, fixing her hair back into her usual bob.  
"Guess the pegasi are just as good as our brooms!" Swan laughed, moving to sit by Tiave while Ginger sat by Jules, "So, what are we talking about?"  
"Mmm, not much. I was just asking Tiave about the reason he talks the way he does." Jules said, "I got my answer already though."  
Just then, a blonde Grand Vampire known as Shannon Copur practically glided over to them, clutching a black parasol, "Phoebe requests everyone's presence in the hall. She says that it's important, so please get there as quick as you can." She said before turning on her heel and walking back to the palace.  
The teens shared a look, "What do you think that's all about?" Jules asked worriedly as the other teens pulled out their wands.  
"I dunno, but hold onto me. You haven't learned the teleportation incantation yet." Ginger said as Kestrel, Swan, and Tiave all disappeared. Jules wrapped her arms around the black haired girl's waist, and Ginger waved her wand. Just like the other three, they had disappeared too.  
  
They joined Gvaudoin, Fricorith, and all of their other friends up front, where they saw Phoebe standing in front of her pristine white throne with a woman named Samantha Cordial off to the side of her looking serious.  
"Now that we're all gathered together, Samantha has something to share with everyone." Phoebe said, stepping away to let Samantha take her place.  
"Frances McCullough is planning an attack on this place, and she will do so on Monday. She's doing it so that she can attack the recently recruited teens before they can unlock their true potential." Samantha said calmly and to the point.  
"Where did you learn this information? Can this source be trusted?" Another Grand Vampire known as Armando Roennigke questioned loudly.  
"It came from an anonymous source. I assure you, they can be trusted. I know them personally, after all."  
"Miss Samantha!" Loren asked, raising his hand. "What will we do with the targetted teenagers? It'd be too dangerous for them and their families if they were to stay in the mortal world."  
"You're correct. That's why those teens will be staying here for a while, while their families will be sent away with their memories of those teens stored safely away."  
"What if this place is compromised?" Orion asked, folding his arms, "We only have today and tomorrow to prepare, after all."  
"Do you recall that hut located in Belladonna Cove? Watervista Palace? You are to take those teens there and wait for further instructions."  
"When will we be able to go back home?" Sandra asked, squeezing Jacob's hand for comfort, "I don't think I could handle being away from my family for that long."  
"As long as it will take to keep you all safe while you train." Samantha said sympathetically, "Hopefully, our battle with Frances will not take long."  
"You all will stay here tomorrow night." Phoebe said, "Please grab anything important to you when you go home tonight, and we will send someone to come get you all tomorrow night. My children, the Tricous, and the other six teenagers will be sharing their rooms with you all if you request it. That is all."  
  
As the hall went into an uproar, the teens snuck out to the front of the palace.  
"So, is this how those teens from Pleasantview, Strangetown, and Veronaville felt when they ran away to save their friends and Bella Goth?" Sandy asked, being held by Jacob.  
"I suppose, but they were gone for only a day or two. Their parents were actually searching for them too." Tara pointed out.  
"They also kinda knew what they were doing." Patrick said. "The few people that chose to be magical don't. And you know Frances isn't the only monster we'd have to face if we need to go on the run."  
"He's right. We'd have to hide the fact we're magical, vampires, and lycans." Gvaudoin drawled, resting her arms on the palace steps, "We can't just stay in Moonlight Falls or Midnight Hollow either. They'd expect us to go there."  
"Well, we're supposed to stay in Watervista Palace, right?" Violet asked.  
"They'd find us there eventually." Kestrel said. "We need to think bigger."  
"Strangetown?" Rick asked, "They have aliens there. We wouldn't be too out of place."  
"We should use that and Lucky Palms as a last resort." Swan said, "We've got vampires, remember? Can't have Kestrel and Tiave burning to a crisp in the desert."  
  
"Aren't we going to fight back?" Tara suddenly asked, looking around at everyone, "Sure, some of us can't literally fight back.. but can't we find something that'll weaken or outright take away Frances' powers?"  
"You know, that's not a bad idea." Gavin said. "Gvaudoin, this kind of this is right up your alley. Could you find something?"  
"I mean, I guess. It'd have to be after Frances' attack however. We're all going to be busy fortifying this place, so I can't really do too much research."  
"I understand. So, where do we go if Watervista falls through?"  
"Dragon Valley!" Ginger exclaimed, "Magic isn't too out of place there if we needed to use it, and dragons!"  
"That's not a bad idea... I think Appaloosa Plains is a pretty unsuspecting place too. Sure, a group of teens isn't exactly subtle.. but it couldn't be that bad." Justin said.  
"I think Bridgeport could work. It's by SimCity, but they're less likely to look at us oddly. Teens do go shopping in large groups pretty often there." Swan said.  
"Guys, guys, we'll burn that bridge when we get to it." Orion said, waving an arm lazily, "Besides, we don't even know if we have to get outta here yet. I say we wait until we know for sure."  
  
Well, they couldn't argue with that. Still, the non occult teens still couldn't help but worry about themselves and their families?  
Would they end up dead like those teens who saved Bella nearly came close to doing? Worst of all, their families apparently wouldn't know that they even existed in the first place. That was enough to make a few of the teens worried about the whole plan.


	17. Roth (4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of stuff is happening!
> 
> Edit, May 8th: I'm going through a little bit of a writer block right now, so I apologize for the lack of updates! Feel free to give me ideas!

_208 Welsh Lane, Sunday, 1:50 P.M._  
  
Things were tense in the Roth household today, and it all had to do with the disastrous dinner last night. Today, all Sandra could do was drag herself around the house and pack as Xander went to sleep over at Cleve Day's house and their dad drank himself into a coma.  
  
At dinner, their mom had announced that she knew their dad was cheating on her with Diana Caldo. He didn't deny this fact, but he asked her who had told her that.  
"Does it matter who told me, Morty?"  
"Yes, it does. If there's someone spreading lies about me, then--"  
"Lies? Ha! I could smell her perfume on you before, and I can smell it on you now. Those hickeys on your neck definitely aren't from me either. Bug bites my _ass_."  
Morty fell silent after that, so Sandra and Xander excused themselves for the dinner table. As soon as they left, the yelling match started up.  
"I've heard them fighting before, but.." Sandra whistled, "It's never been this bad before."  
"I know.. and it's all my fault they're fighting like this." Xander said guiltily.  
"What do you mean by that? Their marriage has always been rocky, even when I was your age."  
"Well.. I kinda told Mom that Dad was cheating on her with Diana."  
"Is that true?"  
"Yeah. Earlier today when we were all in Belladonna Cove so me and my friends could set up shop, Dad and Diana went to get snacks. When they came back, I could see her lipstick on his face. Why else would it be there if they weren't kissing or something?"  
"That does make a whole lot of sense, but don't beat yourself up over it. I think it's better for her to know sooner than later. Maybe they can talk this out civilly?"  
  
Suddenly, Stella stomped past her children and upstairs as Morty followed desperately behind her.  
"Stella, darling, please! We can talk about this! You were kidding about the divorce thing, right?"  
"No, I wasn't!" She called back angrily, grabbing her suitcase from the hallway and marching right back downstairs, "We'll talk at a later date. I can't be here right now. You should've thought about this before you decided to cheat on me." She declared, marching outside and towards a black car with a shady looking man at the wheel. Morty tried to get her to come back, but she refused to listen and the man had driven away before Morty could come to the window. Morty had cried all night, and Sandra listened as she texted her friends to plan for the palace tomorrow. It broke her heart to hear his sobs, but what could she possibly say or do to make him feel better? She had hoped that her last night here would be better, but that clearly would never come to fruition.  
  
In the present, Sandra had finally finished packing her stuff up and she made her way downstairs to the living room. Her dad was sitting on the couch, clutching a bottle of alcohol.  
"Daaaaaaddy!" Sandra said in her sweetest voice, hanging off the side of the door, "Can I pretty please have a sleepover with my friend Tara over in Belladonna Cove?"  
"...Whatever." The man mumbled, clearly out of it.  
"Sweet! See you later!" Sandra grabbed her bag again and rushed out the house with her car keys in hand. He'd probably realize what he told her later, but she'd be long gone by the time that happened. She hopped into her convertible, driving straight over to Jacob's house. Both Jacob and Jules were waiting for her on the curb, and when she pulled up they got in the car. Sandra typed Tara's address into her GPS, and they were finally on their way.  
"This is exciting, isn't it?" Jules asked from the backseat. For once, she wasn't wearing that dumb white coat she usually wore and Sandra had to admit she looked cuter that way.  
"Yeah, it is. I'm kinda worried about our families though. Dad already lost mom, and I don't know how he'd feel about losing me too, even if they're not supposed to remember us." Jacob said, arm resting against the car door. Sandra knew how he was feeling, except for the fact her mom wasn't dead.  
"I'm worried about my family too. Moreso about Xander, but I'm still worried. Mom walked out on us last night, and she didn't even say where she was going." Sandra admitted. The car was silent for a moment, but then the last person she expected to speak up did.  
  
"Hey, I'm sorry about your mom. Mine walked out on me and my dad too, just to become a dread pirate." Jules O'Mackey actually pretty felt bad for her. The same Jules O'Mackey who hated Sandra for 'stealing' Jacob away. You know, maybe the redhead wasn't so bad after all. Their whole fight was kinda dumb anyway.  
"...Thanks. I'm sorry about your mom too, really. Mine walked out because Dad was cheating on her with Diana Caldo?"  
"Diana? Did you hear the rumors about her being-?"  
"Dina Caliente? Yeah. Honestly, her being Diana would explain how she fell off the face of the Earth. I'd love to solve that mystery, but we've got bigger fish to fry at the moment."  
"Agreed. If Diana really is Dina, then I hope she's caught soon. If she manages to fully get her claws into any of our dads, that could be a disaster."  
"She only goes for wealthy old men. You know, like Michael Bachelor or more famously, Mortimer Goth? My parents really idolize the Goths, hence our similar names and houses. If there's anyone Diana would go black widow on, it'd be my dad."  
  
As dark and depressing as this subject was, Jacob was happy to see his best friend and his girlfriend finally getting along and holding an actual conversation without hurling insults at each other. Of course, while arguing while driving is a bad idea in general, they weren't being passive aggressive towards each other either.  
Maybe after all of this was over, they could be friends too.   


* * *

  
_Belladonna Cove, 2:22 P.M._  
  
The trio of teens had finally pulled up to Tara's apartment complex, clearly amazed at how luxurious it was. Sandra parked the car, and they all grabbed their bags and made their way to Tara's building.  
  
"These are lovely apartments! I'd live in them myself if my parents didn't prefer actual houses." Sandra said, punching the apartment number onto a small box by the apartment door, "Too bad there aren't any door boys like those swanky hotels." The door swung open, and they made their way inside the building. They took the elevator to the top floor, and made their way to Tara's apartment number. Jacob was the one to knock, and a tall and blond man wearing a business suit had answered.  
"Are you all my daughter Tara's friends?" He asked seriously.  
"Yep! I'm Sandra Roth, that's Jacob Martin, and she's Jules O'Mackey." Sandra said. The man nodded in approval, allowing them inside. He instructed them to leave their bags in Tara's room, and once that was done he led them to the living room. Violet, Rick, and Justin were already sitting down watching TV as Tara stood in the kitchen grabbing snacks and drinks.  
  
"Oh, hey guys!" Violet waved at the trio cheerfully, "We're all here then, right?"  
"Should be. We just need to wait for Tara to come back with the snacks." Rick said, engrossed in whatever they were watching. Sandra, Jules, and Jacob all made their way to the couch to sit as well.  
"Well, your wait is over. There's cans of soda, bags of chips, and snack cakes on the table. If you're hungry, help yourself to whatever's in the fridge." Tara said, scooting in between Justin and Sandra while holding a can of a pink drink.  
"Justin, could you please turn down the TV? I have something to say to all of you." The blond man asked. Once this was done, the man cleared his throat. "Hello. You may or may not know me, but I'm Armand, Tara's dad. I'm well aware of what's going down tonight. I have orders to bring you all over to Samantha's house at around 4:30, and I will do that. Please be sure to grab all of your things, and stay safe while you're gone. That's all." Armand left again, and Justin turned the TV back up.  
  
"How is your dad so cool with this?" Jacob asked incredulously, "My dad would flip!"  
Tara only shrugged in reply, "He's dating Samantha, and she told him about the whole witch thing. He agreed to us using our house as a meeting place until they're ready for us over in the Palace. Don't tell Phoebe about my dad, by the way."  
"We won't. Do you guys know who sent that message, by the way?" Violet asked, grabbing a bag of chips.  
"Samantha's sister, Kimberly. Get this, she's an evil witch but regrets it! Obviously, we can't tell Phoebe."  
"Okay, okay, okay. I've noticed something lately. Everyone seems to be terrified of Phoebe, and always seems to sneak around behind her back. Why?" Rick asked, arms folded.  
"Well, she's a super strong witch with a personal vendetta against the Dark! Why wouldn't we be scared?" Sandra said. "At least, that's the basic gist of what Gvaudoin once told me. She's not particularly close with anyone, they all just fear her."  
"Not even those Grand Vampires Kestrel told me about?" Justin asked in surprise.  
"Especially not them." Tara interjected. "Two other Grand Vampires defected, and Phoebe hasn't trusted the remaining two ever since! That's what Fricorith told me once."  
  
"This woman's pretty harsh.." Jules said, scratching the back of her head. "I dunno if I trust her." Sandra nodded in agreement.  
"She is pretty sketchy even if she is offering up shelter. I say we keep a close eye on her if anything." The rest of the teens agreed with this statement too. That woman didn't really give the teens a reason to trust her and her alone. They trusted Samantha, the Tricous, and the Newsons way more than they trusted Phoebe honestly. It would probably stay that way for a while too.


	18. DeBateau (4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a new chapter!  
> A few regrets, and a small heart-to-heart.

_Cornerstone Condominiums, Sunday, 3:00 P.M._

Despite the thrill of a possible adventure running through Tara's veins, she was still worried about what would be happening tonight, just like all of the other teens present in her apartment.

The fact that her father knew about everything that was about to go down and willingly let her go to the palace and would willingly allow his memories of her to be taken away for who knows how long seriously frightened her. Sure, it was all for their safety, but something could and probably would go wrong with this whole plan. What if the only person who knew where the memories were being hidden was killed and hadn't left a guide to recovering them, therefore losing them permanently? Or what if the teens died during this? Frances didn't seem to be above murdering them. Either their parents would be blissfully unaware of their demises, or they'd remember and mourn for quite some time. Would their families care? Tara knew for a fact her father did. Jacob, Jules, Violet, and Justin's probably would as well, especially Justin's. Rick and Sandra were way more ambiguous, however. Rick often complained about his parents constantly yelling at him for minor things, while Sandra's were in the middle of a pretty messy divorce.

On second thought, maybe this wasn't the best way to stay safe. The attack was tomorrow, however, so there wasn't any other time for them to discuss any other plans. Speaking of the attack, Tara spotted some children roaming around the Palace and she couldn't help but wonder what would become of them. Surely the kids wouldn't be forced to fight too, right? 

"Hey, are you alright?" Jules asked, moving next to Tara with a concerned look on her face.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not." Tara noticed the conversations around them began to drop to whispers so their friends could listen in, but she didn't really mind much, "It's just.. now that everything's settling in and the excitement from this whole thing wearing off, I'm not so sure about this magic business anymore."

"You can tell us about it if you want." Jules said sympathetically, "I'm not sure if you feel the same way about us, but we all consider you a friend." The other teens voiced their agreement, which caused Tara to finally share what was bothering her.

"Well.. something could go wrong with our families not remembering us. I get that it's so they aren't attacked for information on us, but what if they never remember us?"

"In my case, I hope mine _don't_ remember. Call me insensitive, but my parents aren't so great." Rick grumbled, arms folded.

"My parents are… decent at best. I'm more worried about Xander though." Sandra said, braiding and unbraiding her hair, "I do see where you're coming from, Tara. I wonder if this whole thing had to be done in the past?"

"It could've. Kestrel mentioned that teens our age had to go through what we're going through right now too, including her own brother. They stopped recruiting teens for a while after the Newsons were taken in a few years ago though." Justin said,

"So what makes us so special then?" Jacob asked, "I get that she told us that we all have 'magical potential', but that didn't really make me, Sandra, and Justin want it. You know, those other teens from the past were probably told the same exact things as us."

"Maybe we're the chosen ones. I don't know why it'd be _us_ specifically, considering Phoebe and that other witch has been fighting for about ten years at this point, but.." Violet suggested.

"I don't know why either.. By the way, did you guys notice a few kids around the palace? There were the younger Newson siblings, that Gavigan kid, and the Ottomas girl too. What do you think will happen to them?" Tara asked, worried. They probably _wouldn't_ be forced to fight, but..

"The Gavigans and Ottomas are probably going to leave, but I'm not sure about the Newsons. They probably can't come with us, I know that for sure." Jules said.

"Maybe we could ask the Newsons themselves when we meet up with them?" Jacob suggested, "They'd know where the kids are going, or just their younger siblings at least."

"Yeah, maybe." Tara said, though she still didn't look terribly pleased. She got up, making her way to the hall, "I'm gonna go talk to my dad for a moment. Snacks are in the pantry if you want them." As she left, she could hear her friends whispering about something. Whether it was about her or not, she couldn't tell, but that didn't matter to her right now. 

* * *

Armand had just hung up after speaking to Samantha when Tara came in looking bothered by something. She wouldn't tell him anything, but she ended up asking for him to meet her out on the balcony. Tara rested her arms on the balcony railing, staring out towards the ocean until Armand had cleared his throat to get her attention.

"So, what's wrong, Tara? I noticed how upset you looked."

"Everything. Now that I'm thinking everything over again, this whole magic thing is kinda.. it's kinda scary, y'know?"

"There's still time for you to back out if you want to, you know. Since we're supposed to be leaving for other cities anyway, we can go to SimCity. You can attend SimCity High until we're able to return home."

"Hm.. as tempting as that sounds, I don't want to put you in danger by hiding me. I'm sure that the Dark witches and warlocks could easily track us down through me. Plus, I don't want to just ditch my friends when they're going without their parents knowing."

"There's no shame in wanting to leave all of this behind. Your friends could if they wanted to as well. Besides, as your dad, It's _my_ job to protect _you_. Not the other way around." Tara fell silent for a while, before finally looking up at Armand with a determined expression.

"You're supposed to protect me, I know. You've done that for me for the past seven years and I'm so grateful for that. But now it's my turn to protect you. I have magic now, and there's no going back from that. You don't have it, so.." She let her statement linger for a moment as Armand's jaw dropped a bit. When he finally found the words to say what he wanted to, Tara was already leaving.

"I can't run away now. No matter how much I want to. I'm going to practice spellcasting until we're sure Frances can't harm you or any of our families again." With that final statement said, Tara had walked back into the apartment and back to her friends. All Armand could do was stare after her. What had gotten into her all of a sudden? She had come outside upset and he was more than prepared to comfort her like he always did, but then she finally found some much needed confidence. The thing that worried him the most was her 'protecting' him. As her parent, it was his job to make sure she was alright. It always has been, and it always will be. She was not supposed to protect him. It was true that she knew more magic than he did, and it was true that her staying with him would plant a target on his back..

But he didn't want her to die protecting him. That was his worst fear. He knew she wouldn't want him dying for her either, but he'd do it in a heartbeat.

As much as he selfishly wanted to keep her here with him until everything was over, he knew he couldn't. She'd find a way to get back into the world of magic, whether he knew it or not.

That's why he finally decided to let her go. He still had worries, but he decided it was better for him to know and to see her off one last time.


	19. Jocque-Contrary (4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you think the battle on Monday will end?

_ 218 Bay View Drive, Sunday, 4:15 P.M. _

Samantha had brought the teens to the house earlier than she said she would, so Tara shared a quick and heartfelt goodbye with her father before leaving. At the moment, the teens were sitting in the Cordial's secret room behind their bookcase, curtains drawn and their packed bags close to them.

Tara, Sandra, and Jules were talking about something related to the whole magical realm while sitting on the armchairs, while Rick and Jacob tried getting to know each other. Violet and Justin sat in a corner, snacking on some cookies Samantha had brought everyone. Despite their opposing interests, they were getting along pretty well.

"Man, your mom sounds kinda uptight." Violet said, leaning back against the wall.

"No, she  _ is  _ uptight. I wish she could be more like my uncle, honestly." Justin sighed.

"I wish I could relate, but my parents are honestly pretty chilled out most of the time. They're usually focused on their hobbies, if anything."

"Gee, an overbearing parent or borderline neglectful ones. We've been dealt excellent hands, huh?" 

"You know, I've never thought of it that way.. maybe I should ask them about it once all of this is done with."

"Probably. You know, I thought about what you told me yesterday."

"What did I tell you?"

"That I should stand up to my mom." Violet looked over at the boy curiously. Even though he protested against her suggestion, he still considered doing it?

"So.. what are you going to do?"

"I think I'm gonna do it when we get back." He nodded, determined, "Are you still on my side?"

"Of course. I'll always be in your corner if you'll have me." The brunette girl grinned, placing her hand on Justin's shoulder. The boy smiled back, placing his hand over hers.

"Thank you, Violet, I mean it. Will you come with me to confront her?"

"If that's what you want, I'll do it without hesitation. We're friends, after all!"

"You're right. I'm glad to have you as a friend, really." They sat like that for a moment before moving away from each other. Violet loved Rick a lot as a friend but sometimes he could be a bit too much for even her, especially when he was angry at his parents or just the world in general which happened pretty often as they grew older. Justin was far calmer and more composed. While she did like that part of him, she really wished that he'd show more sides of himself to her. She wanted to see his anger, his sadness, and his fear someday. Not because she loved seeing people suffer, but because she knew no one could be happy all the time, seeing as she had first-hand experience with that.

"Hey, Violet?" Justin suddenly asked, staring at the ceiling.

"What's up?"

"How is it that you manage to stay so optimistic all the time? I mean.. when Tara voiced her concerns over this, you didn't seem too upset."

"Just because I don't show it doesn't mean I'm not worried," She replied softly, "Someone has to stay optimistic, right? Rick's perpetually in a foul mood, you and Sandra are having issues with your parents, Tara's seeing the drawbacks to everything now, and I don't know what Jules and Jacob are thinking." She had gone off on a bit of a tangent there. Justin didn't reply to this at first, so she finished with; "Someone's gotta keep everyone's spirits up right now. I'm going to be that person."

"You know, you don't  _ have  _ to try and solve everyone's problems. Sometimes you just can't, and you'll only end up hurting yourself if you keep pressing it."

"Maybe so. I know I'm only one girl so trying to fix everyone's problems can be impossible.. but I still believe I can help in at least one way."

"I admire your tenacity, Violet. I really do."

"It's nothing, really. Anyone can do it."

"But only you chose to do it, so.." He smiled, holding onto her hand, "Let me praise you for once, okay? You deserve it."

Violet was quite surprised by this turn of events, but she accepted the close contact. Smiling back at him, she ended up kissing him on the cheek, "Thank you, Justin. You're really sweet, so once all of this is over.. let's go out together. Just you and me."

"Are you asking me out on a date, Violet?"

"If you want it to be one then yes, I am."

"Well, it's going to make my mom super mad. Let's do it."

Violet grinned, giving Justin another kiss on the cheek. Maybe they were moving a little too fast, but hey-- their lives were too at the moment. Any of them could drop dead at any moment if Frances managed to pursue them, and they wanted to get their feelings out of the way before that happened. Maybe it was only a shallow crush on both of their parts, but they couldn't deny some level of attraction was there. Not Violet, who quickly warmed up to the somewhat nerdy boy, and especially not Justin, who had found her quite pretty when they first met.

* * *

Rick listened to Jacob ramble on about a video game he had recently bought as he watched Violet and Justin. They had gotten close pretty quickly, but he was fine with that. If Justin ever hurt Violet, Rick swore he'd kill him personally.

"Can we talk about something else now?" Rick asked boredly. Yeah, he was into video games like Jacob, but he wasn't as obsessed as he was. Jacob shrugged, seemingly okay with this.

"Alright. What did you want to talk about?"

"Jules and Sandra." Jacob visibly tensed up upon hearing their names.

"...What about them?"

"I sensed some animosity between them when we first met Jules. What's up with that?"

"...As you should know by now, me and Sandra are dating. Well, I dated Jules before her. We broke things off amicably, but Jules thought Sandra was too self-absorbed and airheaded while Sandra thought she was too bitchy for no reason. I've been pushing them to try and get along though, because I refuse to choose between them. They're both important to me."

Rick whistled, "Damn. A real Twilight story, huh? Team Sandra or Team Jules?" Jacob rolled his eyes, while Rick simply smirked.

"Laugh it up. I think it's fair that I get to ask you something about yourself too."

"Well, shoot. Ask away; I've got nothing to hide."

"What's going on between you and Violet?" Rick raised his brow, leaning back on his arms.

"What do you mean what's going on? Vi's my best friend."

"There's nothing more going on between you two?"

"Hell no. Vi's like my sister, and she sees me as a brother too. Besides, I've already won the heart of coolest girl in the world and Vi's more into that Cleveland kid if you haven't noticed." Jacob nodded, waving his hands in his defense.

"Just asking. Who's this girl you're into anyway?"

"Miranda Capp. She's from Veronaville."

"There's no way you're dating Miranda. Her family only sets up arranged marriages!"

"Only for the main family line." Rick showed Jacob his lockscreen. It was a picture of a girl with blonde hair cut into an asymmetrical bob, blue shades, and a dress exactly like Tara's, "Besides, they recently stopped doing those because apparently her older cousin Juliette fell in love with this general's son who rescued her. I'm pretty sure only her oldest cousin, Tybalt, stayed in his marriage because he actually loved the girl."

"Where'd you learn all that? None of it was on the news or in the newspaper." There was no doubt that the girl was Miranda, but he could've easily gotten a picture online.

"I told you, I'm dating Miranda. She tells me everything like I tell her everything. You don't have to believe me, you know."

"Okay.. I'm choosing to believe you. By the way, did you tell her about the whole wizard thing?"

"Nah. Getting her involved when she  _ just  _ dealt with the mafia and some aliens seems too cruel. She'd probably love to learn some spells though."

"Huh. You know, speaking of aliens.. there was a scientist who discovered a way to speak to them. Apparently he and his wife ended up skipping town though."

"Yeah, they did. My friend who works in the SCIA's looking for them."

"Okay, I can believe you're dating a Capp, but you do  _ not  _ know someone in the SCIA. They're not supposed to disclose their jobs."

Before Rick could defend himself, Samantha entered the room with her wand in hand, "Alright everyone, it's time to go. Stay close to me while we travel, and keep your bags close as well." With that said, Samantha opened up a portal and went through first. The teens grabbed their bags, and followed after her. Sandra and Jacob went first, followed by Violet and Justin, while Rick and Jules brought up the rear. They reached the Palace in almost an instant, and were immediately greeted by Swan and Kestrel.

"Girls, what's wrong?" Samantha asked, putting her wand away.

"Nothing, nothing. The Pheebster just wanted us to be here so we could show everyone to their rooms!" Swan grinned, waving at everyone.

"Oh, and Nathan and Trisha need help setting up the infirmary." Kestrel said. As Samantha rushed away, the girls turned to face the teens, "So, have you thought about who you're rooming with? All of us are free, but some of us have bunk beds."

As the teens thought about this, a translucent version of Gvaudoin floated down from the ceiling. Everyone but Tara, Kestrel, and Swan stared at the girl as if she had grown two heads and started to breathe fire.

"I'm rooming with Gavin already, so two people can take my room." She said, becoming solid.

"Are you sure Miss Phoebe's going to allow that…?" Kestrel asked, worried. Gvaudoin simply shrugged and turned to the girls first.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her. Anyway, I came to hear where everyone's staying. I'm going to send up their bags, and tonight we'll show them which door to go through."

"Well, can me and Jacob take your room? We promise not to touch anything." Sandra asked. Gvaudoin looked skeptical, but shrugged and nodded.

"Can I stay with Fricorith? I know him better." Tara asked. Gvaudoin's look this time was more ambiguous, but she didn't protest.

"I'll room with Ginger then." Jules said.

"In that case, I'll stick with Swan or Kestrel." Violet said. With that, Gvaudoin pulled her wand out of her bun and waved it for a second. The girls' bags began to float up to a set of stairs. Once that was done, Gvaudoin turned to the boys.

"Well since Gavin's spoken for already, I'll stay with Patrick or that Loren kid." Rick said.

"Tiave and Orion are my only other choices, so.." Justin shrugged. Gvaudoin did what she did for the girls' bags, and sighed before sticking her wand back into her bun.

"There. Now, go find something to do. Dinner starts at six, and ends at eight. 'Curfew' is at ten, but no one really enforces it. Just try not to get caught if you plan on sneaking out. By the way, Sandra and Jacob, come find me in my lab later. I've got some things to show you two." With that, Gvaudoin became somewhat translucent again and sunk through the floor.

"...Okay, who knew she was a ghost?" Jules asked, staring at where Gvaudoin had been a few seconds ago.

"Me and Kes did." Swan said.

"I did too. Fricorith told me when we met. As a matter of fact, he's one too." Tara admitted before walking off, probably to search for the aforementioned boy.

"He's in the West Tower! That's where he goes to brood!" Kestrel called out, "Anyway. Justin, Tiave wanted you to try out a broom today. Even if you still choose to not practice magic, a broom's a quick way to get around." Without even waiting for a reply, Swan and Kestrel began dragging Violet and Justin outside.

The group began to grow smaller and smaller as the other teens went off to greet their magical friends as well as trying to get to know the layout of their new temporary home.


	20. Cordial (4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the lack of updates! This chapter was a little hard to write for some reason.
> 
> Anyway, the action will be picking up after the Tricou-Newson chapter!

_ Palace of Neverending Light, Sunday, 5:30 P.M. _

It was almost dinnertime, but Samantha had rounded up most of the teens in the Palace and two other important people in Phoebe's office. Phoebe herself was gone, but she had asked Samantha to explain what would be happening tomorrow which she agreed to.

The newer teens had sat in a semicircle around the chair Samantha was sitting in, while the Tricous, Newsons, and other teens stood behind them. In the corner stood the Grand Vampires Shannon Copur and Armando Roennigke, watching over everything. After everyone was settled in, Samantha began.

"So, you're probably wondering why I called you all here. I'm going to tell you what the plans are tomorrow."

"We're going to Watervista Palace tomorrow, aren't we?" Jacob asked.

"Yes, but there are steps we'll go through before doing so. First, you need to partner up with someone. A partner that's magical is preferred, but the choice is yours." With that, the teens scrambled up to grab a buddy. Once they were satisfied, Samantha wrote it down. Sandra Roth and Jacob Martin had paired up of course, Jules O'Mackey and Ginger were partners, then Violet Jocque and Justin Cleveland, Tara and Fricorith, and finally Rick Contrary and Loren decided to pair up. Outside of them, Gvaudoin and Gavin, Swan and Tiave, and Kestrel and Orion paired up with each other. Patrick was the only one who didn't have a partner.

"Okay.. Patrick, feel free to join any group you want." She wasn't surprised to see that Patrick rushed to join Gvaudoin and Gavin's group, but she noticed how annoyed Gvaudoin looked at this development, "Now that everyone has a partner, you must stay close to them tomorrow. You are to try and protect each other from attacks. In Sandra and Jacob's case, I'll give them something later tonight because neither of them have magic." 

"So, what's next?" Gvaudoin asked, leaning against Gavin.

"You all won't be doing any fighting." Before the Tricous could protest, Samantha raised a hand, "You need to hide this time. In the past you all would have had to fight together, but not this time. Our new friends haven't had the chance to learn any fighting or defensive spells yet. Avoid conflict when you can."

"But what happens if we're overpowered?" Kestrel asked.

"I don't think that will happen but just in case, you need to go to Watervista Palace. The Tricous and Newsons already know where it's located. If any of you should get separated from everyone else, then that's where you should search first."

"Alright. So, why are they here?" Orion asked, referring to Armando and Shannon. After whispering to each other for a moment, Armando approached the group slowly. His demeanor was stony as usual, and his arms were behind his back.

"I shall explain. Shannon and I are to be your mentors if something happens to Samantha or Phoebe. Before you ask, we both are adept with magic. We simply prefer using our vampiric powers more."

"And don't look so tense around us either. We will not be drinking any of your blood, because we don't drink the blood of humans if we can avoid it." Shannon quickly added, noting the disconcerted look on Sandra's and Jacob's faces. That managed to ease their concerns, but only by a little.

"Ahem." Samantha cleared her throat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room again, "With that said, Copur and Roennigke will only come when Phoebe and I are out of the picture. If all goes to plan, that won't be necessary."

"So when we're in Watervista Palace, what then? Do we just sit there and wait for you guys to find us?" Rick asked, folding his arms.

"Wait at least a day for any of us. If no one arrives by noon on Tuesday, you need to head to Moonlight Falls."

"What's in Moonlight Falls? Wouldn't Frances be searching for us there?" Tara asked.

"Yes, but we have contacts there who will be assisting you. They're fairies, and their names are Titania and Oberon Summerdream. You can't miss them."

"So, we meet up with the Summerdreams. What then?" Rick asked a second time.

"You'll have to stay in Veronaville for a bit while you all figure out a way to defeat Frances, or continue to wait for us."

The teens all slowly nodded at this, and Samantha had an idea on what they were going to decide to do. It happened every year, and knowing Tara, Rick, and possibly even Tiave, it'd happen again this year. All Samantha could do was try and prepare the kids as best as she could. Tonight after giving Sandra and Jacob a way to travel like everyone else, she would have to get in contact with the Summerdreams. They were one of the older magical families, and they had been there when Samantha had started using magic as well. They currently lived a halfway normal life in Veronaville due to the glamour they put up to protect themselves, but they wouldn't completely give up their magical ways. That explained the almost romantic haze over the town that caused the younger Capps and Montys to finally start fraternizing with each other in a friendly way. It also explained why they still looked as youthful as ever, despite being there when Phoebe also became a witch about fourteen years ago.

"So, are we done yet? Dinner's gonna start soon, and I wanna be first!" Fricorith exclaimed, causing Gvaudoin to somewhat glare at him.

"You don't even need to eat as a ghost." Fricorith simply brushed her off and stood up as soon as Samantha gave the okay.

"Remember to meet me back here at eight, Sandra and Jacob. I have to give you something important so that you two aren't just dead weight." The two teens nodded, exiting after Swan and Rick. Once all of the teens were gone and presumably out of earshot, the Grand Vampires turned on Samantha.

"What are you thinking, sending those children out like that?!" Shannon asked angrily. Samantha noticed that Shannon seemed to prefer the company of children, teens, and the elderly over the years, so her anger didn't surprise her. Before she could give an answer, Armando put in his two cents.

"I don't like it either. I understand that they shouldn't be fighting alongside us, but why in blazes did Phoebe get them involved in the first place? Why did she start recruiting teenagers again? I don't mean to be rude, but they're quite useless. These teenagers don't know much about the magical realm, and some of them don't even want to get involved!"

"I feel the same way, don't get me wrong. It's not up to me, however. Phoebe won't divulge that much information to me, but she did say that she sensed magical potential in them."

"She says that about any and all teenagers Ashe recruits." Armando said coldly, "I don't know what it is she's playing at, but I don't like it.

Finally, Armando pushed his cape behind him before turning to exit the office, "Come, Shannon. Let's go check on our little 'prodigies' now." Shannon exitted behind Armando, nodding. Samantha stayed in her chair behind the desk, sighing and rubbing her temples. This truly was a pain in her butt. Shannon and Armando seemed mad at her, and they were all mostly left in the dark as well. Still, there wasn't much they could do at the moment. For now, Samantha had to contact the Summerdreams, search for those teleportation stones for Sandra and Jacob, and wipe the memories of those families..

Samantha definitely had her work cut out for her.

* * *

_ Fortress of Eternal Darkness, 6:00 P.M. _

Frances stood in front of all of the inhabitants of her fortress, staring them down as they all whispered to each other. In the very front stood Kimberly and the two Grand Vampires she had recruited, looking quite bored or irritated by something. Might as well get her speech over with so she can discuss what everyone will be doing tomorrow.

"My brothers and sisters of the Dark, our time has finally come!" Frances yelled, grabbing everyone's attention and effectively silencing them. Once all conversation had ended, Frances began again, "Tomorrow, we attack Phoebe at her palace! Thanks to Kimberly's information, we know that Phoebe has recruited more teenagers, and that they haven't trained yet."

"I'm assuming that we have to capture them dead or alive. Who are you sending?" Kimberly asked, arms folded behind her back.

"I'm glad that you asked. Kimberly, you, Arcadia, and Cooper will be going. Bringing all of them alive is preferred.. but I will not be upset if you manage to accidentally kill one or two if they refuse to cooperate." As Cooper and Arcadia promised Frances that they'd do as she asked, Kimberly was frozen in fear. She didn't actually  _ want  _ to hurt those kids, especially not when they weren't in a position to protect themselves. She knew that Phoebe recruiting more people to her cause was a bad thing, but this was going a bit too far. Finally, she looked back up to Frances, resigned. She'd just have to make sure that Cooper and Arcadia didn't get to them first.

"No longer will we have to hide away in fear! The magic realm and the Dark will once again be respected!" Frances yelled as everyone present cheered. Finally, Kimberly left to go sit outside. She didn't want to hear this anymore.

She ended up sitting under one of the dead trees out front, watching as a raven perched itself nearby and stared at her.

"You know, just because I practice Dark magic… that doesn't make me evil, right?" The raven cawed, tilting its head, "Oh, who am I kidding? You can't understand me, and I can't understand you."

"Says who?" Kimberly jumped, looking around. There wasn't anyone else nearby, so she looked back at the raven with her brow furrowed.

"You.. you can understand me?"

"Yes. Are you so surprised? Everything else here is magical, why wouldn't the animals be too?" The raven answered.

"True, I guess. But can you possibly answer my question?" She asked. The raven went silent again, before it went to perch on Kimberly's shoulder. She winced due to its talons digging into her skin, but said nothing.

"That is for you to decide. It's up to you to either control it or allow it to control you."

"For a bird, you're pretty wise."

"Yes, well, ravens are quite smart." It replied smugly.

"Talking to animals, Kimmy-poo?" Arcadia asked mockingly, "And here I thought your sister was the Disney princess. Are you seriously getting soft on us?" Kimberly quickly stood up, holding her arm up so that her new friend didn't fall off.

"No. What do you want? I thought you were busy licking Frances' boot." Arcadia glared, flashing her fangs.

"I could kill you right here and right now, you know."

"You really couldn't. Frances would kill you right after. Now put your oversized teeth away, and tell me why you felt the need to bug me."

If looks could kill, Kimberly would be six feet under by now. She knew she shouldn't act so confident around Arcadia, but she couldn't simply pass up on the chance to bring the Countess down a notch.

"If you insist. Frances is going to tell us who is doing what during the attack soon. She asked me to fetch you."

"I see. Tell her I'll be there in a minute." Arcadia nodded, turning on her heel, "You know, you'd better watch your back."

"She is intense, no?"

"She's all bark and no bite. She and Cooper wouldn't dare attack me."

"Don't be so cocky, human. If they were to get you alone during that attack she spoke of, they could kill you and say you were a casuality."

"I'd never let them get a drop on me.  _ Never. _ If I'm going to die, they'll go straight to hell with me." Kimberly replied, making her way back into the fortress. The raven showed no sign of leaving, oddly enough, "Why are you still here?"

"I'm coming with you. No, you do not get a say. I can help you."

"Oh yeah, how? You can't exactly do magic."

"I can scout ahead for you if needed, or search for something if you just ask."

"Like a dog."

"I'm better than a dog. I can fly, you know."

"True. So, do ravens have names? I'm Kimberly."

"They call me Poe."

"Funny. That usually means peacock. Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you Poe. I expect you to pull whatever weight you can if you expect to stay with me."

"You don't have to worry about me. Simply worry about those Grand Vampires."

As weird and as surreal as it felt and sounded, Kimberly was glad to have this talking raven as her companion. Sure she learned the spell to summon a familiar ages ago, but it was nice to have one she could have a conversation with.

Still, she never recalled an instance where another animal here had ever spoken...


	21. Tricou-Newson (4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Tricou get closer to their respective friends.
> 
> Also, would you like to see a certain character show up in the fic? If you do, just let me know!

_ Palace of Neverending Light, Sunday, 7:59 P.M. _

Before Tara could head up to her room, Fricorith dragged her the opposite way towards the tower he usually hung out in. She didn't put up a fight, but she did look pretty confused.

"What's up, Cory?" Tara asked, flopping down on one of the nearby couches. Fricorith opened up one of tower windows, revealing a lovely orange and pink sunset.

"Can't I hang out with my favorite girl?" He moved to sit next to her.

"I thought Gvaudoin was your favorite."

"... Okay, you're the second favorite." Fricorith replied, watching as Tara grabbed one of his hands to inspect the metal rings on it. It was a little embarrassing having his hand held by her but since no one else was around to witness it, he didn't complain.

"What's the story behind these?" She asked, watching as they glinted in the dying sunlight.

"My entire family has matching ones. It's a sort of identifier if we ever got lost or died or something." He said, pulling off the largest one and handing it to her. It was black, and had a big ruby embedded in it.

"It's lovely."

"I guess. Gvau hardly wears hers because she doesn't want it to fall into her cauldrons." He pulled off another ring to hand over to her. It had a silver band and it had a large unidentifiable blue gemstone of some kind embedded in it, "Gvau got me this mood ring a few years ago. It doesn't really fit my whole style, but it's the thought that counts."

"I have one too! I kinda regret leaving it behind though. We could've been ring buddies." She handed over his rings, but she didn't let go of his hand.

"Oh yeah? That's a little dumb, not gonna lie." He scoffed, electing to shove his rings into his pocket, "What are we, twins?"

"No.. but I thought it'd be nice." She admitted, looking down at her shoes sadly. He stared at her for a moment, before sighing in annoyance, "How about this; I'll get you another mood ring so that we can match or whatever." Tara became happy about this development way quicker than he expected. He got the feeling that she was faking that sudden sadness, and he was probably right.

"Good! Now, how come you have that fringe over your eye? Isn't it hard to see like that?" She asked innocently.

"...I just like it like that, okay?" He said sharply. He wore his hair like that for a reason, and that was a reason he really didn't want to share right now.

"Oh, okay.."

"Look, I'm not trying to be rude, but it's kinda personal. I'll tell you someday, but not now." 

"I get it, I really do!"

"Then stop looking like I kicked your puppy, girlie!" He said, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder. He found it funny when he could get her flustered, and right now was no different.

"You wouldn't dare."

"You're right. I'd just possess it and eat your shoes."

"One, I'm glad that I don't have a pet, and two, I didn't know you liked the taste of feet and shoes."

"I don't, but dogs probably do." Much to Fricorith's disappointment, Tara ended up pushing him off of her so that she could stand up and look out the window, "Sure, feet sniffer. I totally believe you!"

"No you don't. I know that tone because I use it all the time." He said, coming up behind her. He ended up resting his arm on her shoulder.

"You're really clingy, you know that?"

"Am I really? I didn't notice."

"You've always got a hand on me or Gvaudoin. What's up with that?"

"Maybe I don't want you two to disappear like everyone else."

"Are you going to explain that?"

"Not tonight. I'll tell you some other time."

"You sure are an enigma, Cory. You say such cryptic stuff that makes me curious, and then you just dodge the question altogether. I know you want to keep an air of mystery, but honestly!"

"Hey, I promise I'll tell you when all of this blows over, got it? Granny and Gramps don't want us spilling the beans about our lives to you guys just yet."

"Huh. I wonder why."

"It gets pretty morbid. I mean, you're pretty into the paranormal, but this may just be a bit too much."

"Nothing's too much for me. But I digress. There is something I've been meaning to ask though."

"Shoot."

"Why did you latch onto me specifically? Out of all the other teens here, you chose to hang out with me and me alone. Ignoring Gvaudoin, of course."

"You just caught my eye that night, y'know? No one really does the occult and when they do, they're a paranormal investigator. Half the time it ain't even real."

"What were you doing that night before you met me anyway?"

"I was going to go haunt some people, but I couldn't pass up on the chance to interact with one of those spirit boards. I haven't seen one in ages. Enough about me though; What's your story?"

"There isn't much to say about it. Besides what's going on right now, it hasn't been too eventful."

"Don't give me that.  _ Something  _ interesting in your life happened to you. If you can share at least one tidbit with me, then I'll share one too."

That got Tara's attention. She thought long and hard about what she wanted to share, and she finally spoke up again, "I was adopted."

"...You know, out of everything I thought you were going to say, that wasn't it."

"Well, It's true! Daddy adopted me when I was about nine or ten because his ex didn't want children and she cheated on him. I'm not friends with her, but we do talk when we see each other."

"Man, you  _ are  _ more interesting than I thought. Maybe I should pay you a little bit more attention, huh?"

"Yeah. A deal's a deal though, so fess up!"

"Ah, crap. Well… did you know that we were rumored to be vampires?"

"You know, I can see it. You guys are pretty goth."

"It led to our untimely deaths though. First the elders and adults, then Gvau and me. We managed to escape and hide for a while, but they eventually found us. They covered up the whole incident, and managed to convince everyone that we just left." He noticed how silent Tara went, and he tilted her face towards him. There were unshed tears in her eyes and a frown on her face. Before he could tease her about it or say something, she pulled him into a tight hug. You know, if he hadn't already been dead he'd probably die right here and now.

"What… gives… girlie?"

"You and the others didn't deserve that! It wasn't right, and they were completely wrong about you guys! You're not vampires, but that still didn't give them the right to do it to you!" Fricorith stared down at Tara in a moment of confusion. The Newsons and Phoebe were saddened when they shared their story, but it didn't bring them to tears. Why was Tara crying?

"It happened a long time ago. Those people are probably dead or they've forgotten by now."

"That doesn't matter!" She snapped, "They shouldn't have done it. I hope they're guilty for what they did for all of eternity. They'd be right at home in the fifth or sixth circle of Hell."

"Whoa, girlie.. getting a little dark there, yeah? I know that you're mad, but what's done is done. Besides, I don't think Grim does the whole circle of hell thing."

"Well he should. Just because it was a long time ago doesn't mean it should've been that way or that I can't get angry." She went silent again before she looked up at him, "Who was the first?"

"What?"

"Out of Gvaudoin and you. Who was the first to go?"

"...It was me. I tried buying her time to escape, but I failed. The last thing I saw before I died was Gvaudoin surrounded by those assholes. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't."

When Tara burst into tears again, Fricorith couldn't help but hug her. He never really liked hugging people even before he died, but he really wanted her to stop crying.

Sure, he was angry and hated humanity when he returned as a ghost, but that was behind him. He didn't need Tara getting angry on his behalf.

It was nice knowing someone cared, however. Even if that someone was only recently thrown into his life, it felt nice to have her support.

* * *

Gavin watched as Gvaudoin angrily paced back and forth across the balcony, looking pretty worried.

"Who does that dense, insolent, dimwitted, little  _ brat  _ think he is?!" She yelled before sitting next to Gavin.

"Patrick isn't  _ that  _ bad when you get to know him, you know. He's just shy."

"And does it look like I give a damn? He certainly wasn't shy about barging into the group!"

"He didn't barge, Gvau. Samantha said that he could choose anyone to partner up with, and he chose us."

"Look, Gavin. I'm not going to magically like him just because he has to be with us. I'm tired of him constantly chasing after me! I've told him multiple times, and all he says is that I'll come around. No, I really won't."

"Okay, I understand your anger.. but insulting him behind his back isn't going to solve anything."

"Maybe you're right. I just wish he'd understand that I have feelings for someone else."

"Yeah? And who is that someone else?"

"You."

Gavin froze. _Gvaudoin_ _liked him?_ _Like, actually liked him? Sure, he thought she was pretty and was kind usually only to him but.._

"We've known each other for years, Gavin. Me falling for you was inevitable. I don't know how you managed to do it, but you did. Now, if you reject me, that's perfectly fine."

"I.. I like you too, Gvau! But what about Pat-" Gvau kissed him to interrupt him, but pulled away just as quickly.

"No, don't worry about him. This is between us, and us alone. Patrick's opinion doesn't matter. What matters is our status. Will you have me as your girlfriend?"

"Y-Yeah!"

"Good. Now, let's get something straight. I'd rather not do PDA. If we must, hand-holding is fine."

"Oh, thank Watcher. I'm not a PDA type of guy either, honestly. I can do that."

"I'm glad that we've got that figured out."

Gvaudoin appeared calm on the outside, but on the inside she was freaking out. Technically she had courted a boy once before she died, but he had probably forgotten about her or hated her by now. In any case, she would make sure this love story didn't end in tragedy.

"You know, I'm not the only person in love."

"If you mean Sandra and Jacob or Fricorith and-"

"No, no! I mean Ginger. She's got her eye on someone."

"Oh. Well, who's the lucky guy?"

"Actually, lucky  _ girl _ ."

"What?"

"Sure, she likes both guys and girls, but she currently has a crush on one of the new girls."

"Which one?"

"I think her name is Jules? That redhead who's always hanging around Jacob."

"Oh, her! I didn't think Jules was her type, honestly."

"Neither did I, not gonna lie. She told me about it last night though."

"Huh. I wish her the best of luck then. They're friendly with each other, but I'm not sure if Jules is into girls as well."

"We'll have to wait and see, huh? They'll get closer eventually, and then we'll see for sure."

Just then, Patrick decided to show his face, "Knock knock! I finally found you guys!"

"Oh boy." Gvaudoin rolled her eyes, earning a nudge from Gavin.

"Hey, Patrick. What brings you up here?"

"Just wondering where the gang was. Pretty cold up here, huh? How do you do it?"

"I don't know. Look, if it's so cold, why don't you go back inside?"

"Nice try, Gvau! I'd withstand all the elements for you!" Gvaudoin rolled her eyes again.

"Joy. Also, that's  _ Gvaudoin  _ to you. Only Fricorith and Gavin can call me that."

"But-"

" _ Gvaudoin." _

Patrick looked somewhat saddened by what Gvaudoin said, so Gavin decided to change the subject.

"So.. about the threat of Frances attacking."

"Pretty spooky, huh?" Patrick asked, "I wonder who told Samantha about it."

"I don't know, but what I do know is this; The Dark isn't as bad as we thought." Both Gavin and Patrick looked horrified, so she continued, "Allow me to explain. I've done a little digging, and it turns out Pheebs once taught the Dark. Frances also taught the Light."

"You've gotta be pulling our legs, Gvaudoin."

"I assure you, I'm not. I was looking for a way to stop Frances in Midnight Hollow, and I ended up finding a book on famous witches throughout history. It mentioned the both of them, and how they both taught magic. Now, I have a theory--"

"Share it later, please?" Patrick asked, standing up, "I can't stand this cold any longer." With that, the boy immediately left.

Gvaudoin blinked, "Huh. He usually listens to my ramblings."

"It is pretty cold up here, but we're used to it. I'll listen to your theory though. It's kinda interesting how Mom once taught the Dark despite hating it."

"And how Frances taught the Light despite being the complete opposite." With that, Gvaudoin started her small lecture while Gavin cut in a few times to ask questions, share his own theories, or to expand on hers. She thought that Phoebe and Frances were rivals at school and it stayed well into their adult years. When they became teachers, they taught each other's preferred magic as if they were proving that they could do it better. It all came to a head when one or the both of them went too far, and their mostly harmless rivalry turned into genuine animosity.

It made a lot of sense to Gavin, but at the same time it didn't. His mother would never try the Dark, even if she were trying to prove a point. She almost feared it. There was also the fact that a ten year war started over a rivalry, which sounded super petty and super childish. Still, it was their best explanation for now, and despite a few issues it was pretty solid. He highly doubted his mother would ever tell him or Ginger, and he knew Frances would rather kill him than give up information.

Maybe he should ask Gvaudoin to lend him the book for a while just so he could do his own investigation.


	22. Roth-Martin (5)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been feeling uninspired lately!  
> Would you like to see a spinoff of John Mole and Stella Roth searching for Dina and the Beakers?

_ Palace of Neverending Light, Monday, 7:30 A.M. _

Surprisingly, Sandra woke up pretty early. She had a small moment of panic when she realized she wasn't in her bed back in Riverblossom Hills, but quickly remembered that she had to stay at the Palace because of the attack that was going to be today.

Jacob was still snoring in the bed across from hers. She wondered why Gvaudoin had a second bed if she never liked having other people in her room, but she doubted that she'd ever get an answer to that question, however. Sandra climbed out of the bed, wincing when the wooden floor beneath her creaked a little. She quickly looked to see if that woke Jacob up, but relaxed upon seeing that he hadn't even stirred. She grabbed a small, purple necklace with a large hole in the middle that was on the bedside table and left the room, knowing that she'd never get back to sleep like this. Both her and Jacob had received a necklace from Samantha last night, and it was so that they could teleport when needed or to tell if something was fake or not; All they needed to do was hold it up to their eye. Jacob ended up wearing his to bed just so he didn't lose it like everything else he owned.

Sandra slid down the railing of a set of stairs, making her way to the dining room. There were a few people down there eating already, including Jules. Sandra would've pretended that she wasn't there, but the redhead was staring holes into her head. That's why the blonde grabbed a plate of eggs, sausage, and waffles and made her way to Jules' table. The girl seemed genuinely surprised at the fact that Sandra had joined her.

"So, what do you want?" Sandra asked, stabbing at her sausage and eggs a bit too aggressively.

"Nothing. I'm just surprised you're eating that. Isn't it too greasy?"

"What? No. Sausage is amazing." Sandra scoffed, rolling her eyes as usual, "Are you just going to watch me eat the whole time?"

"No, no." As if to prove her point, Jules stuffed her mouth with bacon and eggs. Once she swallowed that, she spoke up again, "You know, I was wrong about you."

"Oh, pray tell."

"I thought you were shallow. That you only cared about your looks. While you do to an extent.. you're not what I expected."

"I'm not shallow, but I do care about my looks. It's all I have in this world. You and Tara are the smart ones, and Violet's the athletic one. I'm neither, like my dad says."

"Your dad calls you dumb and lazy?"

"Okay, he doesn't use those  _ exact  _ words, but he doesn't seem so hopeful about my future like he is with my brother. At least my brother's starting up a mini business."

"And.. what about your mom?"

"What about her? She left us for a shady guy in an equally shady car. Sure, she loved us.. but she felt pretty unattached to us even before that. She fought with dad often, and they fought the night she left too."

"Jeez.. compared to your problems, mine seem somewhat petty. My mom left, but she's still in the neighborhood. Dad's trying to find a new love, but I don't like her too much."

"Jules, comparing our struggles is pointless. Just because I seemingly have it worse, doesn't mean yours aren't just as bad. I think I'd be pretty upset if either of my parents got with someone else.. especially so soon."

"That's the thing. My mom and dad divorced when I was a kid. While I don't hate her, it feels like she led him on. I found out that they were never in love in the first place."

"Honestly? That sounds like my parents too. Like.. a lot of the marriages between rich families seem pretty poor. I've heard about Regan Capp and Cornwall Capp, and then there's my mom and dad. They usually marry into families for the money."

"But you're different. You chose Jacob."

"I admit it; I got with Jacob as a sort of rebellion. He's more middle class than the upper class I'm used to, but I really do love him. Father didn't like it too much because he wanted to arrange a marriage between me and some kid named Francis, but Mother somehow changed his mind. And you know what? I want to stay with Jacob for as long as I can. He never cared about how pretty I was, how much money I had, and he stayed even when I was being bratty and mean towards you. He truly is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

With that said, Sandra went back to eating her breakfast. She noticed that Jules had stopped eating, and judging by the look on her face she was deep in thought. 

"For what it's worth, Sandra, you're not so bad to me. I'm sorry for being so ugly towards you in the past."

"And I'm sorry for being a complete bitch. Now that we've all made up, what's next?"

"Well.. there's actually someone I  _ think  _ I'm into..? I'm not completely sure, however. Can you keep it a secret?" 

"I can. Spill the beans right now." Sandra said seriously. Jules seemed pretty nervous, but she quickly 'fessed up.

"Well.. Ginger."

"You like Ginger?" Sandra asked, surprised, "You know, I was expecting Justin or Gavin.. but Ginger?"

"I'm just as surprised. I've never liked a girl before, so.."

"Well! There's a first for everything. You know what she likes, I'm assuming?"

"Animals and racing. I need to get to know her a little better before I'm certain though."

"Remember that you've always got me in your corner then!" She clapped the girl on her back before standing up to put her dish away, "I'm gonna go get dressed in actual clothes. See you later!" Jules waved goodbye to Sandra as she ran up the stairs.

When she entered the room, she noticed that Jacob was gone. Well, at least she didn't have to worry about kicking him out so she could change. She decided to put on something loose and airy, just to make it easier for her to run if needed. Okay, so maybe she swiped it from her mom's closet ages ago.. but hey, it's not like she cared. She never asked about the clothes, and she returned them to Sandra whenever she did the laundry. Putting that aside, Sandra decided to rest on her bed for a while. She didn't know how long it would be until she got the chance to do so again. She was worried about her parents, but she was most worried about Xander. She knew he wouldn't recognize her if she were to go up to him now, but she was still somewhat upset.

Even though he got on her nerves like little brothers always do, she still loved him dearly.

* * *

When Jacob woke up, he immediately noticed Sandra was gone. It was somewhat funny to him, considering he was usually the one to wake her up on the weekend. He quickly touched his collarbone to make sure his necklace was still there. Upon confirming that it was there, he got up, got dressed, and exited the room to grab breakfast

He heard loud laughing coming from one of the nearby rooms, so he slowly opened the door. That's where he found Rick, Justin, and all of the other guys hanging out. Once they noticed him, Tiave waved him in.

"Hey, dude! Saved you some breakfast." As he entered the room, Tiave handed him a large plate. Jacob moved to a desk to eat his food, "So, what were you guys laughing about?"

"Ah, not much, not much." Fricorith said, floating overhead with his arms behind his head.

"We're just telling some stories about ourselves." Justin explained, "Tiave in particular was just telling us about his wipeout on the day we met."

"It was totally  _ not  _ a wipeout! Swan distracted me on purpose 'cause she knew I could perform that trick better than her!"

"Yeah right, Ti. Are you forgetting the fact that Swan's the one who performed it first?" Loren asked, smirking. The boys began to laugh as Tiave scrambled to defend himself.

"Nuh-uh! She totally got it from  _ me _ , bros."

"No offense, but I don't think skateboard tricks translate over to broom tricks that well." Rick snorted.

"Me and Kes were there when she came up with the trick anyway. Do you have any witnesses to vouch for you too?" Loren asked, smirking.

"Well, no, but…"

"It's official, Tiave's a big fat liar. A liar who can't even convincingly lie." Patrick said with a disappointed sigh, "It's okay. Maybe you can come up with your own cool tricks someday too."

"And not just blatant copies of Swannie's either." Orion shook his head, "There's gotta be  _ some  _ sort of creative spark in your head somewhere."

"And when you finally do come up with something, we can make fun of Swannie for trying to steal it." Gavin concluded.

"Okay, fine, maybe I was lying about the trick. But enough about me for once! I think Rick should tell us about himself while I recover from my bruised ego. Go on, Rick." Tiave said, laying back. Jacob could tell that he genuinely was somewhat upset about being called out by the other guys, but hey; in this case, it was pretty justified.

"Well, I guess I could go next. What do you guys wanna know?" Rick asked, resting his elbow on his shoulder. The room was silent, save for Jacob's fork scraping against the plate. Finally, Justin spoke up.

"Tell us something about your family or just something about Desiderata in general."

"Well, not much to say about my family, and I really don't like talking about them. All I'm gonna say is that they're assholes, and we all hate each other. As for Desiderata.. did I tell you my friend's in the SCIA?"

"That John Mole dude?" Jacob asked. He definitely remembered that guy. Sandra had called Jacob in tears and told him that her mother had left with him the night she walked out on them. Truth be told, Sandra hated the man and Jacob somewhat felt the same way.

Rick nodded, "Yeah. Before he left, he told me he was going after Dina Caliente and the Beakers with some lady."

"They  _ still  _ haven't found them? Man, they're slipping." Fricorith complained.

"They were exposed only last week. Sandra once mentioned this lady named Diana Caldo who recently moved in right after everything happened though.. so everyone's thinking she's Dina. I think it's obvious that she is." Jacob said.

"And what about the Beakers? Has anything been said about them?" Rick asked.

"Nope. They just up and vanished around the time that science lab blew up. There's rumors of them living in Three Lakes, which is near Hidden Springs."

"Yeah, any of us could tell you that." Loren waved him off, but he was still pretty interested in this little theory, "Where did you hear this rumor anyway? That's a pretty specific place. Why not Aurora Skies or even Monte Vista?"

"For starters, it'd be pretty hard for them to leave the country on a boat or a plane if they're fugitives. Plus, Three Lakes is pretty isolated. Haven't you heard the story of Nervous Subject?"

"I have." Justin nodded, "The Beakers performed brutal experiments on him, but it didn't really teach them anything. Some woman named Sandy rescued him, but she went missing quickly after that."

"Damn. And I thought my life was bad. The guy doesn't even have an actual name!" Fricorith whistled.

"Yeah. Based on what Jacob said about Three Lakes, however.. it'd be easier for them to run their experiments on people without anyone hearing them."

"Ever thought of joining the SCIA? You might've just cracked the case for them." Patrick said, causing Justin to shake his head.

"Nah, that wasn't anything too special. Besides, I'm in the military already. I would've preferred law, but Mom would kill me."

"Justin, dude, do you let your mommy pick everything for you?" Tiave asked seriously. Justin sat up straight, staring at the boy.

"Excuse me?"

"He's got a point. Why are you letting your mom choose your life for you?" Rick asked, folding his arms.

"I have to agree with everyone else. You're young, but what will you do when you're an adult and she still hasn't let go of your hand?" Orion asked.

Slowly but surely, the other boys in the room agreed with the statements. Justin finally sighed, trying to defend his mother.

"Well.. you know, she's done a lot for my future."

"That doesn't mean you have to bend to her will. A good parent supports their child no matter what path they go down." Gavin said sympathetically.

"Yeah, but.. what if she disowns me or something? There's always my uncle, and as much as we get along, I'm sure he's pretty happy without a kid to worry about right now."

"Dude, if you're scared about her disowning you, then there's some serious issues." Tiave said.

"Besides, there's plenty of places you can stay." Rick pointed out, "Tara's your bestie, right? She could take you in. Hell, even me and Vi could let you stay at our houses. We're friends now, and I know that Vi's got some sort of thing for you."

"You could also stay here, but we don't recommend it. Just putting it out there." Loren said.

"Also, if it's law you want to get into, I could ask Sandra to put in a good word. She works part-time in a law firm." Jacob offered.

"You know what? Thanks, guys. I really needed this chat. I hope that it doesn't have to come to any of that, but I'm glad to know you're all in my corner." 

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Before Patrick could get up and answer it, Gvaudoin stuck her head through it as a ghost. Patrick and Gavin were surprised to see her, but she didn't really care, "It smells like sweaty gym socks and corpses in here."

"What can we help you with, Gvau? We're kinda in the middle of a therapy session." Fricorith said.

"Pheebs wants us to take our new friends up to the tower. Don't worry, Fricorith-- not your tower. Also, she wants me, Fricorith, Ginger, Gavin, Loren, and Orion to plan a distraction so everyone else can escape."

"A distraction, huh? Finally." Orion said, almost giving a wolfish grin.

"You sure you wanna go down that route, Orion? You haven't done it in a while." Gavin asked, concerned.

"Don't worry about me. Worry about Frances' army. They won't know what hit them."

"Anyway, you have your orders." Gvaudoin continued, "I don't care how you plan on distracting them, you three just need to meet me downstairs in a few. Also, be sure to keep a close eye on our new friends, Tiave and Patrick. It will all be for naught if they're dead. We can salvage the situation a little if they're kidnapped, however." With that, Gvaudoin left. 

Well, it would be their last time resting easy for a while. Rick, Jacob, and Justin went to go and grab their bags so that Patrick and Tiave could lead them upstairs. So far, only Kestrel, Swan, and Violet were present. Why were Sandra, Tara, and Jules late?


	23. DeBateau (5)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! I hope you enjoy it.

_ Palace of Neverending Light, Monday, 9:25 A.M. _

The teens were safely tucked away in one of the towers, chatting away quietly in anticipation. They noted how the sky became darker and more tinged with green as the day progressed, and the conversation began to die down. Every so often, either Tiave or Swan would peek out the window and announce what was happening. So far, it was empty outside save for Ginger and a few others patrolling on their pegasi or brooms.

Tara rested against one of the loveseats next to Violet, going over a Dark tome Gvaudoin had lent her. She had studied it all morning during breakfast until Gvaudoin showed up and announced that she was needed in the east tower. She arrived at the same time as Sandra and Jules, who were acting all buddy-buddy towards each other somehow. It was nice to see their weird rivalry wouldn't tear the group apart, but it was still a strange sight to see.

"Still nothing out there." Tiave sighed, taking his place next to Swan, "Sure, I guess they wouldn't attack us this early, but I wish  _ something  _ cool would happen."

"Tell me about it. They could've given us something to do while we wait here." Justin sighed.

"Well, why not practice a little magic?" Kestrel suggested, "I know that some of you really didn't want to get involved with magic, but I think it's best that you do. At least for now. There's tomes on the bookshelves, and we can purchase wands if we need to go to Moonlight Falls."

"I guess we could.." Justin said, moving closer to the bookcase.

"Hey, Kestrel. Can I ask you something?" Violet asked, fiddling with one of her braids.

"I don't see why not. What is it?"

"Well, you and Tiave are vampires, right? And Swan's a dhampir? Sorry if this is a little personal, but I wanted to know what the full extent of your abilities are. Are they similar?" Kestrel seemed a little surprised at this line of questioning, but since everyone was staring at her, Swan, and Tiave, they agreed to share their stories.

"I suppose I'll go first. Where do I start.. Well, I can turn into a bat when I travel. I don't do it that often because people might get a little suspicious. Also, I can eat garlic! I also can't really go out into the sun without my parasol or sunscreen, otherwise I'll pass out and presumably die." Kestrel said.

"Me next!" Tiave grinned, "While I can't fly like Kes, I'm super speedy and pretty damn strong. I'm pretty weak when it comes to garlic though, and I don't understand how Kestrel can eat it. Like her though, the sunlight would probably fry me alive."

"Guess I'm last! So, I'm a dhampir. My dad was a human, and my mom was a vampire. I'm slightly faster and stronger than a normal human, but not as strong or fast as a full blood vampire-- or full bodied? Whatever. Garlic makes me somewhat sick to the stomach if I eat a lot, but a little is fine. As for the sun, I burn pretty easily but human sunscreen works for me. I can get away with it by saying that I have sensitive skin like some humans do."

"And what about blood cravings?" Tara asked, "Do you get those a lot? I have faith that you won't suck our blood, but I was wondering."

"Occasionally we do. We really don't eat human foods that much, but we prefer animal blood. With humans, they sometimes have undiagnosed diseases or alcohol and drugs running through their veins. Animals are often checked for that. It's true for our lycanthrope friends here too; they prefer animal meat, and because they're part human themselves, they're not particularly comfortable eating or mauling one even as a wolf." Kestrel explained.

"As for dhampirs, we can eat regular food! Blood makes us stronger though. Me, I prefer eating any food that's red. But we should warn you about something. Not all vampires have the same diet or weaknesses or powers as us. Be careful around the ones you don't know. Or like, the ones that are  _ obviously  _ evil."

"Huh. This whole thing is more complicated than I thought then." Tara said, tucking her book away safely in her bag, "So, I noticed how you say lycan instead of werewolf. Is there a difference?"

"Oh yeah, dudette! Lemme explain, Kes!" Tiave exclaimed. Without letting Kestrel or Swan get a word in, he began his small lesson, "So, like, my best bro Orion told me this. Lycans transform whenever they want, and werewolves have to wait until a full moon. Lycans become stronger under a full moon! Also, werewolves die if you kill them with silver. Lycans only die when you take their spine."

"That's.. actually a pretty good explanation. Good job, Tiave! Your brain isn't as tiny as I thought!" Swan cheered, ruffling the boy's head.

"Hey, guys? You might want to look out the window right about now." Patrick said, pulling back the curtain slightly. To tell you the truth, Tara forgot the boy was present. He didn't speak up at all during their little discussion, and he didn't make an attempt to chat with anyone. Despite this, everyone clamored over to a window, surprised at the sight. A familiar green-skinned woman was outside, leading a particularly large army. There was something off about the group, however..

"Are those zombies?!" Jacob exclaimed, eyes wide in either fear or shock. No one answered him because they noticed Phoebe and a few residents of the castle went outside to confront the Dark witches and warlocks. They couldn't hear a word they were saying, but the witches and warlocks down below started to fight.

"Get down, everyone. Make sure they don't see you." Kestrel said. As everyone went to sit on the floor, yelling throughout the castle could be heard. They couldn't make out anything, of course, but it shook them to their core. That's when Kestrel heard something knocking or pecking at the door. Phoebe specifically told the fliers not to disturb this tower because it would alert Frances to their location..

"Guys, grab your bags and get out. I have a bad feeling." Kestrel spoke up again, moving towards the door. They looked somewhat confused with this turn of events, but followed behind her.

"Miss Phoebe wanted us to stay in there. What gives, Kes?" Patrick asked as the group quickly made their way down the steps. As Kestrel opened her mouth to reply, they felt the tower shake a little as an explosion came from behind them. 

"Damn. I was hoping the little brats would be in here. Perhaps that little pet of yours isn't useful after all." A feminine voice said in an almost childish voice.

"Will you be silent for  _ once  _ in your life, Arcadia? There's plenty of reasons why they wouldn't be here. What I do know is this; they're still in this castle. Our spy said they'd be here. All we need to do is find them and flush them out." Another voice was heard. This one also sounded feminine, but it was deeper than Arcadia's voice.

"That sounds like Kimberly Cordial.." Tara whispered frantically, "She's Samantha's twin sister."

"Then we need to split up and escape." Swan declared, pulling Tiave along, "Try and make it to the forest first. We'll catch you guys at Watervista later."

The group began to split off into their decided pairs, leaving Jules and Tara with each other due to Patrick tagging along with a currently batty Kestrel. The girls decided to move downstairs before discussing their next course of actions. Tara pulled Jules into a closet and shut the door before sighing.

"What a big mess, and I'm not just talking about this closet. How are we supposed to slip past them?" Tara asked, leaning against a shelf.

"Beats me. I wish the Tricous or Newsons were here to help out. They'd know exactly what to do." Jules replied, sitting.

That's when they heard a bird at the door, and the sound of the lock jiggling. Jules and Tara moved closer to each other, pulling out their wands. They didn't know any fighting spells, but they wouldn't go down without a fight. 

The door opened to reveal Kimberly Cordial, and the girls pointed their wands at her. Oddly enough, Kimberly wasn't trying to retaliate.

"There you are, Tara. Come here."

"I'm not going anywhere with you! You're one of the bad guys." Kimberly tilted her head at that, folding her arms.

"Dark magic doesn't always mean evil, and Light doesn't always mean good. You would do well to remember that. I want to help you and your friends, but you must cooperate."

"Why should we believe you?"

"I haven't tried to attack you to begin with. Now hurry up before Cooper and Arcadia meet up with me. They won't be so friendly." The girls shared a look before following the woman out. She didn't say much, only focusing on getting them downstairs safely-- which was easier said than done. There were people and creatures alike fighting, and there even seemed to be a werewolf in the fray. Kimberly got Tara and Jules to the back entrance, and stopped them.

"Let me give you some advice. Do not trust the Tricous. They're playing all of you, so warn all of your little friends. And another thing; practice the Dark a little. Be the people to prove that it isn't always bad. That's how it was before Frances and Phoebe were in charge." Just like that, the woman left, leaving the girls to stare after her. They shared another look before running out to the forest surrounding the Palace. Before teleporting themselves, they stopped to catch their breath.

"What did she mean by not trusting the Tricous?" Jules asked, resting her hands on her knees.

"Beats me. Fricorith and Gvaudoin are nice, aren't they? We never got the chance to meet the rest of their family though.."

"What are we going to do?"

"I.. I don't know. We shouldn't believe her, but at the same time.."

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it. Let's get to Watervista first."

Tara nodded slowly, and they proceeded to perform the teleportation spell. The spell went well, but Tara's mind was elsewhere. Were the Tricous working with Frances? Were Gvaudoin and Fricorith involved? As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had to keep her guard up.


End file.
